


Compounded Rubber

by TheMostCasualObserver



Category: One Piece
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Luffy Being Luffy, Luffy Is a Little Shit, Luffy is strong AF, Luffy's gonna roll heads, Multi, Romance is a LONG ways off, for now, heads will roll and it will be glorious, idiots get what's coming to them, might end up changing everything, should be an adventure, still not sure how it's gonna work actually, zoro isn't handicapped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:02:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25133584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMostCasualObserver/pseuds/TheMostCasualObserver
Summary: Bad things happened on the first try, so he got a second. What wonderful benevolence, right? Only one problem: half the people he knows have been...changed. This... is gonna take some getting used to. On the bright side, they're all alive! Let's see how long we can keep it that way.Note: I am no stranger to the taboo and will include it into the story if I see fit. While one of the tamer works I am currently writing, Compounded Rubber is no exception. This shall be the only warning.Crossposted on FF.net
Relationships: Boa Hancock & Monkey D. Luffy, Boa Hancock/Monkey D. Luffy, Isuka & Portgas D. Ace, Isuka/Portgas D. Ace, Kaya & Usopp (One Piece), Kaya/Usopp (One Piece), Koala & Sabo (One Piece), Koala/Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 25
Kudos: 53





	1. Luffy...Times Two?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy. It was a blast to write and re-read.

Edit (2/12/2021): Did some grammar check, redid a few paragraphs, and made some needed adjustments to the tone of the chapter and certain conversational directions.

As a side note, the first chapter (and even some of the second chapter) aren't quite in line with the pacing and tone of the rest of the story. So I would recommend you read through Chapter 3 to get a feel for if you like it or not.

Compounded Rubber

Summary: Bad things happened on the first try, so he got a second. What wonderful benevolence, right? Only one problem: half the people he knows have been...changed. This... is gonna take some getting used to. On the bright side, they're all alive! Let's see how long we can keep it that way.

Chapter 1.

Luffy...Times Two?

He appeared with a boom and crack, piercing the fabric of the world with an unnatural, otherworldly force. Like a speeding bullet he rocketed towards the surface, his clothes - already torn and beaten from battle - shredded further.

He cursed seeing himself approach the ground so rapidly (at least it was the ground he was going to hit, drowning was so not on his to-do list). It seemed like his landing was going to be particularly rough; thank goodness for his rubber body.

As he got closer, something caught his attention. He recognized this island. On habit he reached out his senses and nearly choked on what...who he felt down below him.

Its was him. He nearly cackled with glee. That damn thing hadn't lied to him! He was back and that meant all of the others were too! He could do it all again, see all of them again! And this time...this time would be different. He would make sure of that.

But wait… he felt different, somehow. The aura of his first mate was on that he had memorized; he knew it like that back of his hand and could pick it out of a crowd in an instant. This aura though…

It was Zoro, and yet it wasn't.

The hell?

And then there was the other two.

One was definitely Coby, but much weaker just like Zoro. The other though…

Why was he sensing himself...only, different?

What the hell was going on?

Ah, well, he was almost to the ground now. He was pretty sure he knew where and when he was. That was good, even if he didn't remember everything about what had occurred.

The important parts were there, which is all that mattered.

The ground was especially close now.

Thirty feet.

Twenty.

He coated his clothes in armament and braced himself.

Five.

BOOM! The earth shook with a rattling explosion as a red and blue bullet slammed into it. Everyone near the epicenter jolted and yelled in shock at the sudden impact. Panic ran through most everyone there and coughing ensued as the dust invaded their lungs.

In the middle of the crater he had caused, the straw hat wearing man stood up and looked around only to grumble at the dust obscuring his view. Nevertheless, he took the opportunity to better understand his surroundings.

Zoro was behind him to the left.

Coby was standing right next to him.

He(?) was in front of both of them and closet to his current location.

On the other side, a group of eighteen were all gathered closely together. One presence in particular stood out among them as being stronger than normal.

Oh yes, he definitely remembered this little confrontation. He grinned. It seemed it was time for his crew to start making waves once more.

Finally the dust settled and he was proven correct when the pathetic excuse for a human - Captain "Axe-hand" Morgan - came into view, accompanied by over a dozen panicked marines.

He grinned at the shell-shocked expression on everyone's faces.

"Identify yourself scum!" Morgan yelled. "I'll have your head for such a disturbance!"

Luffy's grin widened, even as his hair shadowed his eyes. "Me? The name's Monkey D. Luffy, the man who'll become King of the Pirates, and I'm here to kick your ass!"

A startled squawk of indignation came from behind him but he ignored it. A sudden pulse of Conqueror's sent all but Morgan to the ground and the big man himself looked ready to collapse. Damn, he had forgotten how weak his home sea was. If that little push was all it took to bring this guy so low he would need to be careful he didn't accidentally kill someone.

"W-what did you do to my men!?" the marine captain demanded, unable to keep a stutter from his voice. His Will was having quite the effect, it seemed.

"I put them to sleep so they couldn't get in the way." Luffy replied simply. He took a step forward and Morgan tensed.

It was a tribute to the marine's weak will that he immediately entered a flight or fight response at Luffy's next step. With the roar of a cornered beast, he raised his axe-hand and charged Luffy.

Calls of shock and warning sounded from behind Luffy, but again he ignored them. The blade inched closer, swinging at a rapid pace for the weakest of the seas. He stood still, waiting.

"Die!" *Sching!*

…

*Crack.*

"W-what?" Morgan gulped. "H-how… what the hell are you?" He stuttered. His eyes were wide, terrified as he watched his precious metal axe fall to pieces after slamming into the neck of the monster standing before him.

Luffy grinned; the ominous look sent shivers up Morgan's spine. "Weren't you listening? I'm the next King of the Pirates. And you? You're nothing."

"Wh-"

Morgan's words were cut off as the strongest blow he'd ever felt plowed into his stomach at speeds he couldn't process. Blood, vomit, and spittle flew from his half-iron mouth as his body folded over the arm of a man half his size. Then, with a slight push, he was sent careening away - through the barracks building, then another, then the base wall, and into the town proper.

"Wha-what the hell? What kind of monster is he?" Luffy heard a feminine voice behind him ask. He furrowed his brow in confusion. He was positive that the only people left conscious at the moment were him, the other him, Zoro, and Coby.

And he knew for a fact that none of them were female.

So who the hell had just said that?

He turned from the wreckage that Captain Morgan had caused in his impression of a human torpedo to look at his crewmate and friend for the first time in nearly two months. The moment he caught sight of not just him and Coby, but also himself(?) however, he felt his mind shut down.

If one were to look carefully, they would notice all of the things that made Zoro, well, Zoro. The moss-green hair, the haramaki around his waist, the beige shirt and black pants, and the infamous green bandana tied around his head. There was no mistaking him really.

Except for one, single, very important detail.

He was a _she_. Roronoa Zoro, the most feared swordsman of his day, wet dream of women everywhere, and the goal of all young swordsmen, was a _girl_.

Luffy, inside his mind, felt the very pressing urge to scream in confusion. What the hell was going on!? Sure, it explained why his aura was different; becoming a girl would do that to a person...wait.

He was jolted from his daze as that thought brought up another detail he had noticed earlier, and in fact still noticed. His own presence was different, much in the same way Zoro's was…

Slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes moved from the awe and slightly nervous visage of a female (man that's going to take a while to get used to) Zoro to the simultaneously awed and suspicious visage of his female self.

Damn it.

This was not happening.

Except it was, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Breathe. Breathe. Just breathe and think.

Okay, so this version of himself was a girl. That was...fine, yeah, fine. He supposed it would be weird in a whole different way if there were two versions of him that were identical.

Didn't mean it didn't freak him out, though. Damn, why did this new world already have to be so weird?

_'Keep in mind, that two of you will not be able to exist at the same time.'_

Ah… he had forgotten those words. Stupid of him, really.

It still didn't explain the female Zoro thing though.

He noticed the three focused stares directed at him and realized he had been silent for some time. He smiled and waved. "Yo!"

His greeting seemed to be the hit that burst the dam on his female self's control and she immediately went to town. "That. was. Awesome! You're so strong! And COOL! And you look just like me! Why do you look just like me!? Are you an imposter? You are aren't you! But, your a boy, and I'm a girl and those are different… you're a terrible imposter. But that's okay, because you're still so COOL!"

Luffy, female Zoro, and Coby all blinked at the...word vomit that came out of his female counterparts mouth. Damn, that was something.

_"Maybe she's more like me than I expected."_ Luffy thought. He wasn't always the most aware person, but he could recall easily enough how he had been in the early days of his journey, before he had taken on the Yonko and everything had gone to shit.

Still, she seemed a bit more...excitable, than he remembered himself being.

"Damn you're a weirdo." Female Zoro said to a still conflicted female Luffy (he really needed to learn their names). "Also, who the hell are you? Her brother, or something?"

Luffy blinked, then it clicked. They did look identical, didn't they. Hard not to, being the same person and all. Unfortunately, he had no idea what to say in response. He hadn't exactly prepared for this! "Ah, yeah that."

Damn it! Curse his mouth, acting before his brain. That was his stomach's job!

"Eh?" That was his female self. Her eyes had gone wide and her face was the same one he made whenever someone gave him a world ending revelation. "You're my BROTHER?!"

Well, he'd dug this hole, might as well sit in it. "Sure am!" Normal (unsworn) siblings shared the same blood or whatever right? Well, it's hard to share more of the same blood than with another version of yourself.

He grinned at the girl wearing a very familiar red vest and jean shorts. "What, you mean gramps never told you?"

"No! Why the hell didn't he ever tell me about having a brother? That stupid old man! Next time I see him I'm gonna punch his lights out!" She raged.

Yep, definitely a female version of himself. Hmm, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all; at the very least, she would be easy to get along with and understand.

"I'll take that as a no." He said. "Typical gramps, forgetting about something like this. Well, it doesn't matter, since I'm here now!"

His female self grumbled, but nodded her acceptance. "I guess." A second later she grinned wide and jumped at him. Her limbs stretched and wrapped around him in the way he had done to others so many times. "I have another brother! Hey…" She paused and looked at him, frowning.

"What?"

"...I don't know you're name."

"You're too excitable!" Female Zoro yelled from the background. "And he already said it was 'Monkey D. Luffy', you stupid girl!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, causing his counterpart to widen her eyes.

"Hey! You have the same laugh as me!" She exclaimed.

The duo paused, looking each other in the eyes. "Shishishishi!"

"Oh god, there's two of them." Female Zoro bemoaned.

"Ah, excuse me, Luffy-san." Ah, there was Coby.

The man in question, along with the two women present, looked at the wannabe-marine. The young boy seemed unsettled with so much attention focused on him.

"Huh?"

"Pardon my ignorance, but, even if you're Laya-san's brother, why do you two look so similar? I mean besides looking like twins; you both have similar clothing and the same hat, and even the same scar on your face!"

So her name was Laya, huh? Luffy looked at Coby, his face straight as he said, "Coincidence."

"There's no way that's true!" The boy and female Zoro raged.

Luffy just shrugged, but noticed that his female self did indeed have the same scar, in the same place, as himself. It seemed like they at least had a similar childhood, if not the same one. She did end up at this island, in the exact same confrontation as himself, after all.

"So uh, what brings you here, Luffy-san?" Coby asked from the back. "You probably here for Laya-san, right? Since she's your sister and all."

The man grinned and nodded happily. "Sure am! I'm setting out on my adventure proper and decided I wanted to come back home to gather up a crew. Only the best for the Pirate King, ya know?"

The boy nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, Laya was gawking at Luffy.

"Wait… you said you were gonna become King of the Pirates earlier too, didn't you! Ah! That means another of my brothers is a rival! I don't know if that should make me happy or angry..."

Luffy didn't know how he felt about being rivals with, well, himself. Actually, scratch that, he did - it was not a favorable idea. As interesting as being rivals with himself would be, he knew three things for a fact: number one, if one of them became the King then the other would be denied the position and he loathed the idea that either version of him would be denied their lifelong desire; number two, if they were rivals they wouldn't be able to sail on the same ship which meant that one of them would be kept from travelling with the crew, and just like with reason number one he was loathe to keep that from either of them; number three, should he enter a competition with his younger self at the moment he would dominate so entirely that it would be pathetic - he knew everything she was capable of and would be capable of for the next four years and had that much of a head start in strength and experience, there would be no contest.

So, with those things in mind, Luffy settled on a path that he would have never even imagined, let alone considered on his first go around. He looked at his other self, who was still deep in thought about how to feel concerning this new revelation. "Hey Laya, why don't we join forces instead? I don't really want to compete with my little sister for the title of freest pirate, so why don't we become the two freest pirates together? You can be the Queen and I'll be the King."

Even as he spoke the words, a part of him rebelled but he squashed that with an iron will. This was the best way; besides, they were both technically him anyway so it wasn't like he was sharing the title with someone else.

The King and Queen idea was a stroke of genius though. Damn, his other self being female was turning out to be a better situation than he could have imagined. Who knew?

Laya once again was turning the idea over in her head. Her face was scrunched up and her hand was scratching at her mane of pitch black hair.

It was kinda funny looking, actually.

Wait...didn't that mean he looked like this when he was thinking too hard?

Huh.

"I don't know..." Laya said finally. "How can we both be the freest if there's two of us?"

"That's what you're worried about?!" Female Zoro and Coby shouted from the sidelines.

They ignored them.

Luffy nodded his understanding, having been over this particular issue in his own mind already. Thinking about it, it was easy. "Simple, I'm going to be the King, which means I'll be the freest man in the world. You'll be the Queen, which means you'll be the freest woman in the world. Then, we'll be equally free!"

It was foolproof.

"Uh, are you sure it works that way, Luffy-san?"

"Don't question idiocy kid, it never works."

"I guess…"

His words seemed to have an effect on Laya, as that spark of inspiration appeared in her eyes. A minute passed before finally she smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "You know, you're pretty smart Luffy! I think I'll like having you as a brother. You got a deal!"

And just like that, a huge weight was lifted off of Luffy's shoulders. He laughed joyously, followed shortly by his counterpart, and the two celebrated their newfound partnership.

"Wait," Coby said, interrupting the moment. "I don't understand. If you two are working together now that means you're on the same crew, but then who's the captain?"

Damn it Coby.

"I'm the captain!" Laya immediately - and vehemently - declared.

Oh no, he may compromise on a lot, but that was one thing he wouldn't back down on. Nobody, even himself, took his captain title away from him; he was nobody's second.

"No, I'm the captain!" He declared back, just as strongly.

Off to the side, Coby was looking quite worried at the scene unfolding before him. "Oh no. I started something, didn't I? This doesn't look good. Hey, Tomoe-san, should we stop this?"

"Don't bother kid." The moss-headed woman replied. "It's never a smart move to get in between two quarreling idiots."

The boy nodded but continued to look on anxiously.

"I'M THE CAPTAIN!"

"NO, I'M THE CAPTAIN!"

*SMACK!*

"GRAAAR!"/"RAAARGH!"

Coby watched terrified as the two monsters in human - rubbery - flesh slammed their heads against the other and roared. "Hey, Tomoe, can't you do please something about this?" He begged.

"Not a chance." Tomoe shot down callously. "Besides, what do you expect me to do tied up like this, talk them down?" She turned to glare at the kid who only served to make the situation more troublesome. This proved to be her downfall.

Cue pitiful pouting face. "Please? Who knows what they'll do in their fight, Tomoe-san! You've seen how strong they are; imagine that going towards the town!"

Tomoe gritted her teeth. Damn puny runts and their pathetic faces and astute logic. "Fine." She muttered darkly. The swordswoman turned a dark eye on the young boy who coward away. "But you owe me for this one, runt."

Even as the wannabe marine nodded vigorously, she turned her focus to the still quarreling siblings. The girl was, for some reason, still attached to her brother who didn't seem bothered by the fact at all. Currently, they were pulling at each other's hair and faces like two children, all while shouting various phrases that dealt with which one would be the captain.

"For heaven's sake." She muttered to herself. "HEY! DUMB AND DUMBER!" The rapid response she got nearly made her laugh, but she held it in.

Luffy and Laya paused in their squabble to turn dark eyes towards the person who dare to interrupt them; murderous gleams in their eyes. To the side, Coby squawked and shuffled a dozen paces back.

"What?" They spoke in unison.

Tomoe felt a shiver run up her spine but valiantly ignored it. She was a swordswoman, damnit! This was nothing! "How about instead of arguing over who gets to be captain, you both be captain. You're already going to both be the freest person on the ocean; well, that has to start somewhere doesn't it?"

Luffy considered the words of his soon to be first mate carefully. They did have some merit to them, after all. He could remember as a child, how he, Ace, and Sabo talked about being co-captains in their own crew, but the idea had died with Sabo.

Now though, it seemed it was being brought back in what had to be the strangest way possible - with himself.

He glanced at his counterpart to see she was also considering the suggestion, possibly even thinking about the same childhood idea he had.

Luffy sighed internally. He supposed, that if she was willing, then he wouldn't mind being co-captain with her. She was him, after all. Didn't that mean it would just be like having the same person as captain twice over?

Man, this day was one strange thought after another.

"I don't mind." he said. "As long as Laya doesn't."

When the girl looked at him surprised, he shrugged. "I always wanted to be on the same crew as my siblings; I'm not going to pass that up because of a stupid reason like this. I care too much about you."

It was true, just not always in this particular case.

"You really mean that?" Laya asked, her eyes big and wonderous.

"Of course." Luffy answered seriously. He always meant what he said, this was no different.

Suddenly, massive streams of tears gushed from the eyes of his female self. Her grip on him tightened ten fold and her normally fairy-like voice took on a wailing quality. "WAAAH! YOU'RE SUCH AN AWESOME BIG BROTHER!"

"Shishishishi! Does this mean you accept?"

Laya immediately sobered up, only letting out the occasional dramatic sniffle. "Of course, I do! How could I not want to sail with my big brother?"

"Yep, dumbasses, the both of them."

Coby looked over to the tied up swordswoman. "Um, pardon me, Tomoe-san, but aren't they also your captains now?"

Tomoe scowled. "The hell are you talking about, kid?"

In reply, Coby just held up the three swords that were apart of her original agreement to join the strawhat girl, prior to the arrival of said girl's older brother.

Tomoe could only think of one thing to say to that. "Fuck me."

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Shishishishi! Welcome to the crew Z-Tomoe!" Luffy exclaimed, nearly slipping up. Damn if that wasn't going to take a long time to get used to.

The swordswoman grumbled as she walked alongside her two new captains through the marine base and back to town. All around them, marines were running about doing damage control on both the buildings and the hierarchy situation that came about as a result of Captain Morgan's incompetence and subsequent defeat.

"So, what are you planning to do now that you're an official crew?" Coby asked.

Laya shrugged. "Head to the Grand Line and hope that we find our next crewmate along the way, of course."

Luffy nodded his head in agreement, liking the way his "sister" thought. Sure, he had a few specific destinations in mind, but he didn't exactly know how to get to any of the places and he certainly wouldn't mind exploring a few new islands along the way.

"Speaking of crewmates, how many others are there and where are they?" Tomoe asked.

"Oh, you're the first." Luffy said happily, knowing exactly how the first mate would react. "Congratulations, Z-Tomoe! You're our first mate!"

The swordswoman blanched. "You mean you just formed?! Wait! That means there are more captains then crewmates - what the hell?!"

"Shishishishi!" The captain duo laughed together.

"At least tell me we have a decent ship." She practically begged.

Laya answered this time, nodding happily. "Sure do! She's right over there."

It was a stroke of convenience that they happened to be walking over the small hill that allowed them to see the docks clearly. Laya was able to point out the little dingy that Luffy remembered using the first time around.

Luffy couldn't help but be amused that this particular detail was also the same as his own experience, though a certain moss-head didn't feel the same.

"That's a dingy you moron! There's nothing decent about it!" She yelled, before her mood suddenly turned dark. "You have got to be kidding me. I've sworn myself to a couple of idiots that are going to die before they even get to the next island, let alone the Grand Line."

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Don't worry Tomoe, we'll make it to the Grand Line no problem."

"Says the moron." She snarked.

"Hey, Luffy-san. What about your boat? You had to have used one to get here, right; why not use that one instead of Laya-san's?" Coby asked.

Luffy blinked, then cursed inwardly. He hadn't thought he'd need to deal with this. How do you explain that you landed on an island because a mystery worm-hole spit you out over top of it? Thinking fast, Luffy gave the first thing that came to mind which seemed even remotely possible for this portion of the world.

"Ah, well, you see, I was sailing along, and then...I was fighting a seaking. Yeah! I was fighting a seaking the size of this island. Unfortunately, it called one of its buddies and they teamed up against me. Next thing I know I'm flying towards the island and landing in the middle of a marine base with you all in it."

Hah! He'd like to see Ace's face now. The stupid jerk had always said he sucked at lying, well he was proving him wrong right now-

"What kind of idiot would believe-"

"WOW! You fought two seakings the size of an island, at once!? That's so cool!"

Tomoe sighed. "Forget I said anything."

"You really should work on your lying face, Luffy-san. Your pursed lips and shady eyes are a dead give away." Coby dutifully informed him.

Luffy blanched. Okay, so maybe he was still terrible at it.

"EH!? You mean he was lying?" Laya sent him a hurt look and Luffy looked away, whistling innocently.

"So, how did you actually get to the island. Since you immediately tried to lie, I'm assuming something had to have happened." Tomoe asked while Coby awkwardly comforted a sulking Laya about "stupid, lying older brothers".

"Would you believe I flew here?" Not entirely accurate in context, but they didn't need to know that.

"Bullshit."

Whelp, it was worth a shot.

"But Tomoe-san, his face is completely normal; that means he isn't lying."

Way to go, Coby!

"Still though, flying? That isn't possible."

Ohoh, if only you knew, Zoro… Tomoe, argh, this was annoying!

"Actually, it is possible." Luffy informed them, gaining three shocked and disbelieving expressions. Even Laya seemed to not believe him entirely; though it was obvious that she really wanted to.

Made sense; flying was freaking awesome, no matter what anyone said.

"Prove it." Tomoe demanded. Off to the side, Coby looked expectant and Laya seemed like she could burst from anticipation at any moment.

Luffy grinned. "Alright." Then, he flew.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The moment Luffy came back down to earth, to the mind-boggled expressions of not only his crewmates and Coby, but also everyone on the street who was watching, he was glomped by a very excited and star-struck Laya.

"H-how?! That shouldn't be possible! Where did you learn to do...that?" Tomoe demanded. She felt like her mind was going through a grinder at everything being thrown at her today. Monsters in human flesh, weird fruits with the power of the devil, long-lost identical twins, and now flying. Fucking flying; because why not!

Unfortunately for her sanity, no answered would be given this day.

Luffy looked at her with the same serious face he'd been using so frequently lately. "Se-cr-et."

"What?!" Tomoe squawked. "You don't get to do something like fly and then say its a secret!" Her words fell on deaf ears, however, and the swordswoman harrumphed.

"That… was the coolest thing EVER!" Laya shouted. "You have to teach me! Please! Teach me! Teach me! Teach me!"

"Sure thing."

"WHOOHOO!"

"But not yet."

"Awwwww."

"Shishishi!"

"Why not, Luffy? I wanna learn how to fly!" She begged. At first it was only a simple pout, but then, it morphed into something that he knew for a fact he had never done himself.

The puppy-dog face.

"Nope. You aren't ready yet." He said, straight-faced.

Shame that he was immune. For her, that is. Hehe; he couldn't count the number of times Nami had tried to do that exact same thing to him in his own world only to fail every time. His female self may be cuter and more innocent than Nami, but that didn't mean he was any more affected.

"Damn." Tomoe chuckled. "That's cold."

"Laya-san got shot down." Coby added on.

"Hmph!"

"Ooh, and now the princess is pouting."

Luffy chuckled as his "sister" clung to his back like a limpet, likely trying to bug him into accepting, just as he had often done to others.

Shame he knew all of her tricks and was immune. For her, that is.

He continued walking like nothing in the world was wrong as the female pirate verbally nudged him from his shoulder every few steps. Beside him, Coby and Tomoe watched on, equal parts baffled, amused, and annoyed at the whole thing.

Eventually, Coby managed to get over the situation enough to ask a question that had been on his mind since they got back to town. "Luffy-san, when are you going to get new clothes?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess he does need some, huh?" Tomoe remarked casually, looking her male captain up and down.

Luffy looked down at his outfit and blinked. What had previously been a red vest with long sleeves and pale grey jean shorts held up by a white sash had turned into mere tatters that looked moments away from exposing his nude form to the world.

Huh, they were way more damaged than he remembered. What could have caused that?

While never one for caring about modesty, Luffy understood basic decorum enough to recognize that he needed new clothes and agreed to look for some new ones to wear.

Without wasting time, the group made their way towards the nearest clothing store to find the captain some suitable attire. The whole detour took nearly twenty minutes, something that wasn't helped by the fact that Laya insisted on being a clingy limpet the whole time and had to be pried off of Luffy by Tomoe to allow the man to change in peace.

In the end, Luffy found himself in a dark red t-shirt with a blue vest and dark grey jean-shorts. It was a good look that wouldn't hinder him too much during a fight. And to top it all off, he had a human limpet as a cute little accessory.

Three large grumbles echoed through the street as the group exited the clothing store and Luffy laughed.

"Time for food." He said as the same time his "sister" moaned out for food.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Tomoe-san, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Tomoe snorted at the comment made by the wannabe-marine. Still, she could see where he was coming from. "I don't understand how you two ate more than me. I've gone nine days without food or water and you both make me look like I'm dieting."

The two captains looked at their first mate and, in sync, said, "Because it's tasty." They then promptly went back to gorging themselves on everything they could get their hands on.

Tomoe had to admit, it was quite the show. For those that could see it, that is.

Every few seconds, the wandering hand of one would meet the wandering hand of the other and the two would wrestle with the extended limbs before Luffy inevitably won and got the food he was after, much to his sister's annoyance. In the event that they managed to grab a piece of food - usually meat - at the same time they would glare at each other until one - she couldn't figure out how they decided yet - would let go and claim their prize while the other sulked, though continued to eat.

All of this, of course, happened at near blinding speeds for the untrained eye, further solidifying in the minds of everyone present, including Tomoe and Coby, that both captains were unnatural monsters born from an unholy union.

"MORE FOOD!" The duo exclaimed together.

"Don't you guys think you've had enough?" Coby asked, feeling a little sick at the sight of such eating practice. His own, singular plate, had been cleaned off - only partially by himself - many minutes ago.

"Nope!" They both replied, barely pausing in their eating long enough to respond.

"Ugh." The boy said.

A chiming laugh sounded from nearby and got louder as the owner approached. Ririka, the barmaid and the owner of the bar they were at, as well as mother to Rika - a little girl that Tomoe had saved - walked over with two more platters of food for the hungry captain duo.

"I for one take it as a compliment that they like my food so much." She said cheerfully. "I said you all could eat as much as you wanted on the house for what you did, both for the town and for my daughter and me. I meant it."

"Excuse me! Are you all pirates?" A commanding voice interrupted the conversation and brought a halt to the bar.

Every eye in the building turned to see a procession of marines standing at the French doors, their rifles resting against their shoulders and their stances stiff.

Luffy swallowed his food and looked the lead marine dead in the eye. "Yep. Watcha, need?"

"I apologize, but despite the debt our town owes you, your group is still made up of criminals and that is something we, as marines, cannot abide. We will not attempt to apprehend you, however I must insist that you leave the island at once."

The moment the words left the man's mouth protests erupted from the occupants of the bar.

Then Luffy spoke again and it quieted every voice. "Alright. We were done here anyway, right Laya?"

His co-captain nodded her head, gulping a last bit of food down as she did. "Yeah. We were just about to leave."

"Eh, are you two sure?" Ririka asked.

Luffy turned and nodded with a smile. "Sure am. Thanks for the free food, Ririka. It was delicious!" He then looked at Laya and Tomoe. "Let's go guys."

The two women followed after Luffy, making their way to the door of the establishment. The contingent of marines stood to the side, allowing them through. Before they could leave completely, however, the lead marine called for them to stop.

"Hmm?" Luffy looked askance, wondering what the man could want this time.

"What of that one?" the marine asked, pointed at a startled Coby. "He's been seen with you lot around town; is he not with you?"

Coby looked just as nervous as he had last time

"Nope." Luffy answered easily. "He just happened to get involved because he wants to be a marine and decided to be a good Samaritan. He's the furthest thing from a pirate that I've ever met."

The marine commander gave Coby a hard, penetrating look. "Is this true?"

"Y-yes! I mean, yes s-sir!" Coby exclaimed. "It's always been my dream to join the marines and become an Admiral, sir."

"A lofty goal." the man said. "One that would be cut off at the roots if it were to be discovered you had consorted with pirates. Do you understand that, boy?"

"Yes sir, I do! As Luffy-sa- I mean, as the pirate captain said, we are not together. I could never become a pirate, sir."

"...If it is as you say, then fine. Join me later to enroll." He looked once more at the two straw hats and swordswoman. "As for you three, my request stands. I must insist you leave at once."

Luffy nodded and waved to Coby. "When our grandfather arrives, tell him Laya said to train you."

Then the three left, leaving behind a sentimental and confused Coby.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"MEN! SALUTE!"

The contingent of marines snapped to attention, hands at their foreheads; all thirty of them faced out to sea, showing their gratitude for the three pirates that had liberated their town.

On one end, the young Coby mimicked his superiors actions, proudly showing off how grateful he was to the person who had given him the courage to follow his dream and quit his cowardly ways.

"COBY!"

The young boy's eyes widened at the shout that came from the retreating ship. "Laya-san?" He thought, surprised.

"FOLLOW YOUR DREAM NO MATTER WHAT! BECOME STRONG AND WE'LL MEET AGAIN ON THE GRAND LINE!"

A lump formed in the boy's throat.

"Y-YES! I WILL!" he shouted back. "NO MATTER WHAT!"

"SHISHISHISHI!"

No matter what. He would follow his dream, and the faces of his hero would guide him all the way.

"Men! Because we have saluted pirates on this day, no food for three days!"

"Yes sir!"

No food? He welcomed the challenge. It was only the start after all. He had a long road ahead of him, and now, he anticipated what it would bring.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"You seem to have made quite the impact on that kid." Tomoe remarked idly, watching the duo wave to the rose-haired boy.

"Shishishi!" Laya laughed. She gave Tomoe a great big smile. "Yeah! He was a coward when we met, but now he has a spine and isn't afraid to follow his dream. Isn't it great?"

Tomoe just nodded. She understood the value of having a dream to strive for, and what it meant to never give up on it. Inspiring that will in someone else was always a good thing. The fact that both her captains seem to revel in the accomplishment nearly made her smile.

"Coby's going to do great things. I can tell." Luffy interjected.

"So, how long till the next island? I doubt we have enough to last us more than a couple of days with the amount that you two are capable of consuming." Tomoe asked, moving the conversation along.

Both siblings shrugged and Luffy answered. "Don't know; hopefully before we run out of food though. I don't wanna starve again!"

"If we do it'll be your fault!" The swordswoman raged, causing her captain to laugh. "And what do you mean 'again'!?"

"Shishishi!"

Tomoe sighed; she had a bad feeling this would be a recurring theme. "Just control yourselves, would you? I refuse to die because of your lack of self-control."

"No problem Tomoe!" Laya said, throwing an entire apple in her mouth.

*WHAM!* A clenched fist made contact with Laya's rubber head. "That's exactly what I mean, you idiot! Stop eating!"

The rubber girl pouted, nearly throwing Tomoe off-balance at how cute she looked. Damn, a girl that scary had zero business looking so innocent. "But I'm hungry!" She whined.

"You just ate."

"But that was like...almost an hour ago."

"Kill me now. It'll be a mercy."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed as he watched the interaction between his "sister" and their first mate as they began to wrestle over the bag of apples. This is what he had longed for once more; the nonsense and carefree life that his crew had lived for so much of their adventure.

Moments like this, they were precious, and he would protect them no matter what.

His thoughts drifted back to the person he had sensed in the bar; how familiar she was. He'd had to fight his impulse to run to her and cheer that she was alive, just like he'd done with Zoro... Tomoe.

As she was, he would only be an stranger and a threat to her and that thought pained him to his core. Every part of him wanted to get to the next island so he could recruit her again, prove to her that not all pirates were scum.

He wanted so badly to save her again that it hurt.

Patience was key, though. He couldn't rush it, otherwise she would run away and he'd lose any chance at giving her the family she deserved - giving him the friend he wanted back so desperately.

_"I'm coming Nami. Just a bit longer, and then you'll be free from that bastard for good."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is admittedly, something of a spur of the moment passion project. I got the inspiration for it and it just kept pestering me to complete the thing and see where it went. It was super fun to write, though, and is one of the stories that I come back to every time I feel like enjoying the process of writing and getting the creative juices flowing.
> 
> I won't be updating regularly and this chapter will probably be the only one for a good long while. As of writing this note I am almost done with chapter two, but who knows how long it will take me to finish that and start on chapter three. Hopefully not as long as I am fearing. There's also all of the other works that I'm not posting yet that which take up time aside from work, school, friends, and adult life in general.
> 
> Until next time, stay thrifty and don't lose your quantum portal guns,  
> ~TMCO


	2. Orange You Glad to See Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew arrive in Orange Town, currently occupied by the Buggy Pirates. Deals are made, partnerships are born, and the truth about the world at large is brought just a bit closer to the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! Out far earlier than expected. I hope you enjoy.

“So hungry…”

“And whose fault is that, huh?!” Tomoe yelled. “I told you not to eat everything, but you didn’t listen!” She sighed in exasperation. “Honestly, I question how you survived up till now by yourself.”

Luffy sat in the back of the boat, watching silently. He was feeling just as hungry as Laya was, but he’d had much more experience controlling his urges. Even as hungry as he was at the moment, he wasn’t going to show it.

Besides, if his memory was right they could be expecting some sustenance pretty soon.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind as he had been doing frequently since they had left Shells Town. He honed his will, pushing it out from himself and allowing it to latch onto the world around him.

At first he only received the information one would should they use the simplest form of _color of observation_. He could see his “sister” and Tomoe baking in the sun. Laya looked like she was debating the merits of eating one of them and Tomoe was tense, probably from sensing Laya’s intent.

Further out, he could feel the life of the fish and smaller sea kings that swam in these calm waters. Above them the rare bird would fly beyond reach.

It was the picture of a serene ocean, but it wasn’t what he wanted.

He pulled his senses back, honing them to as fine an edge as he could. Sharper, more focused, his will was like a beacon as it pinged every movement by every living being in its range. The intent of Laya and Tomoe rang clear in his head; the desire of Laya to chew on Tomoe’s arm and the path to get there; the anticipation of Tomoe and her planned method of defense.

It was clear as day, but it wasn’t enough.

He pulled harder on his senses, straining himself with the effort while simultaneously trying to clear his mind of distractions and achieve a sense of serenity that for so long had been completely foreign to him.

He sat there, waiting, taking in everything but seeing nothing. Luffy willed his observation to focus on the intent of his crewmates, to focus on the next movement, the next moment in time. In the same breath, he kept himself from seeing anything that it told him. It was not the information he wanted; not yet.

A minute passed, then two, as he willed himself into complete calmness. Nearing the third minute something pinged his senses more violently than before; the information from his observation surged forward and he felt his eyes -- despite still being closed -- come to life with vision.

_“Foood…!” *CHOMP!* Laya surged forward from Tomoe’s spot on the boat and towards Luffy’s prone form; her hunger had taken over and she couldn’t stop herself from seeing meat in the place of her brother._

_Her teeth closed around his rubber leg and began the ineffectual process of chewing._

Luffy’s eyes snapped open just in time to see Laya charging at him, her mouth wide and her expression dazed. His hand shot out and palmed her forehead, stopping her cold.

He used his other hand to snap her mouth shout even as she clawed at his arm in an attempt to close the distance between them.

Despite the rather pitiful position of his “sister” the straw-hatted man couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

He had done it.

The epitome of observation was once again in his grasp and he was slowly tightening his hold.

Soon his hands would close around it completely. Then? No one would be able to take him or his crew by surprise again.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked across at the now limp form of his female self and chuckled. Releasing his hand he allowed her limp and tired form to fall into his lap where she let out a pitiful moan of hunger.

She really was just like him, he thought.

They remained that way for another little while, with Luffy and Tomoe training and sleeping respectively, and Laya suffering through her hunger in Luffy’s lap, too hungry to bother moving.

It seemed like they drifted along for half the day before something of interest caught Luffy’s attention.

It was, much to his joy, the second instance of foresight he had experienced that day and showed a peculiar little scene of three Buggy Pirates baring their swords at them.

Sure enough, when he opened his eyes there was another boat only a couple dozen meters away. The mast was a plain white, with no indication of pirate affiliation.

“Zo-Tomoe.” He called, waking the swordswoman up. She looked at him, then down at Laya, and back at him with a raised eyebrow. He just shook his head and pointed to the other ship.

Tomoe looked behind her. “Ah. Want me to handle it, captain?”

“Nah, just be prepared to jump ship.”

The swordswoman nodded and said no more as she fell back into what appeared to be a relaxed recline.

Seconds later and they were drifting by the ship in question. Just as he had foreseen, three pirates that looked far too much like clowns jumped up and brandished their weapons.

Before any of the pirates could get a threatening word in, Luffy released a wave of conqueror's and knocked them out. He then regarded his confused first mate and ordered her to load the three onto the dingy.

“We’re gonna switch boats.” He said, before lifting Laya into his arms and jumping over.

With an ungraceful plop he dropped his counterpart onto the bench of the other ship and began looking around for food. He immediately found a crate of apples that was mostly full and cheered at the fortune. Tomoe kicked the dingy full of unconscious pirates away from their new ship and they set off.

“Well, at least we have a proper ship now.” She glanced at him and immediately noticed the apple in Luffy’s hand. “And food.”

Like a trigger word, the mention of sustenance had Laya bolting upright, her eyes wide and her mouth pouring drool like a waterfall. “ _FOOD!_ ” The she-captain shot off like a bullet towards the create of red holiness that had caught her eye in an instant, intent on consuming every last morsel to satiate her hunger.

She nearly made it, too.

*GACK!*

At least until a firm hand shot out and hooked her neck.

With a casual but firm tug Luffy yanked the struggling Laya back into her seat. Then, just as she was about to protest proceeded to shove the apple he’d picked up previously into her open mouth.

It was almost comical the way her jaw shut close on instinct and her eyes watered in happiness.

From the sidelines, Tomoe watched in disbelief as Luffy plucked apple after apple from the crate and shoved each one into his co-captain’s mouth just as she finished the last one. Fearing that they would end up eating all of the food once again, she went over and took a couple, wiping them off on her shirt before biting in and reclining to watch the show properly.

Two-minutes and three-quarters of the crate later, Laya was contentedly laying on her back on the deck bench, watching the clouds roll by.

Tomoe was laying back on the other one and Luffy was sitting in between them, having just checked the course of their ship to make sure they were still going straight -- he was pretty sure they should be close to Orange Town, but since he had no point of reference he couldn’t take them there.

In hindsight, he probably should have kept at least one of the Buggy Pirates around to guide them there, since he knew Buggy had set up in the town.

Oh well.

They’d get there eventually.

...probably.

“Hey Luffy.” Tomoe called, pulling herself into a sitting position.

“Hmm?”

“Back when we took this boat, and those three clowns fell unconscious on their own. You had something to do with that, didn’t you? The same thing happened at Shells Town when you arrived as well. I suppose you knocked the marines out too?” She asked, eying her captain critically. It had been bugging the swordswoman ever since she had witnessed three people just collapse with no warning and the way one of her captains had been so casual about the whole thing.

He had to know what had happened, if not caused it himself.

“Yeah, that was me.” He confirmed.

Well, that was easy.

“And? How’d you do it? I’ve never seen anything like that before. Kinda like that ability of yours to fly. Where did you learn these things and why have I never heard about them?” Tomoe demanded.

By now Laya had caught on to the conversation and sat up, eagerly paying attention. Both female crew members were paying close attention to Luffy and his words.

The man himself frowned at the questions, having expected them, but still not sure about his answers yet. He was fully planning on telling the crew about all of these abilities and aiding them in using them, but he hadn't had an idea of when. Honestly, he had just been reacting to things as they came without much thought -- except to ensure that they didn’t learn he wasn’t from this world.

He supposed, following that train of logic, that it wasn’t a big deal if he told them about such abilities and his skill in them now. It wasn’t like it would hurt anything.

“I learned how to do that stuff on the Grand Line.”

Aa~nd there it was. The big bomb. Luffy remembered very vividly how anything regarding the Grand Line was considered to be beyond extreme in the East. Mentioning you had even been there was sure to grant a person top tier status, regardless of how strong a person actually was.

Saying he became strong there though? That was sure to trigger some larger than normal seismic thoughts in his crew’s minds. The Grand Line was a place of unimaginable strength and mystery.

It was a description shared by those who came from there, and Luffy could practically see such opinions forming in the minds of the two females as he sat there.

“WAH!? You’ve been to the Grand Line? Seriously?” Laya exclaimed.

“How long?” Tomoe asked intently.

“Three and a half years.”

“That long?!” Laya shouted again.

“And you learned a bunch of stuff there?”

Luffy nodded. “I had to. On that sea, you become strong or you die. There’s no middle ground, not for our kind.” He said seriously.

“By 'our kind' you mean pirates.” Tomoe clarified, getting a confirming nod a moment later. “I have a lot of questions, but my first one is what you did earlier -- both the flying and the knock out thingy.”

“The flying is called 'Geppou' or 'moonwalk', and it’s a marine technique.”

Tomoe’s eyes widened and Laya’s nearly bugged out. “You know a marine technique!?” the rubber girl exclaimed.

The captain shrugged nonchalantly, but couldn’t keep the grin off his face. He had always been proud of himself for recreating the marine’s rokushiki all on his own. To this day it was still one of his proudest achievements in training. “I ran into them a bunch on the Grand Line -- most of the higher ranked marines know it, so I gotta see it used a lot; it seemed like a useful skill, so I paid close attention whenever one used it and then trained until I could do it to.”

“You learned how to fly...from second hand experience?”

Luffy blinked and looked at Tomoe. His first mate had an incredulous expression on her face as she looked at him, as if she didn’t believe his words. Were they really difficult to believe? That kind of thing happened all of the time in his original world…

“Yep.”

“Huh.”

“You’re going to teach us though, right?” Laya interjected excitedly.

Luffy gave the girl a big grin and nod, causing her to cheer and rock the boat. “Not yet though.”

“Aaaawwww!”

“Shishishishi!”

“When will you teach us?” Tomoe asked. She wanted to know how to fly. Really, who wouldn’t? It was _flying_!

Luffy pursed his lips in thought. When _would_ he teach them? He hadn’t actually given that any thought until now. He knew he couldn’t do it right now; their boat was too small, but he honestly couldn’t see a reason not to teach them once that was no longer a problem. “When we get a proper boat, one that can hold our whole crew with space left over. If I tried to train you now, we’d capsize.”

Tomoe nodded. “Fair enough. So, what about that other thing, when you knocked out those three buffoons?”

“That’s called haki; more specifically, what I did is called conqueror's haki.”

“Something tells me this is about to get complicated.” Tomoe murmured with narrowed eyes. “So, let me guess, this ‘haki’ is common on the Grand Line.”

“It's not as known in Paradise, but it’s practically required to know in the New World -- and yeah, it’s pretty complicated. I still don’t know everything about it and I’ve been using it for three years now.” Luffy admitted.

 _“Paradise? New World? I have a bad feeling about those titles.”_ Tomoe thought to herself. That was for later though. “So what _do_ you know and what can you tell us?”

“Well, there are two other types of haki aside from Conqueror's. Those are called Armament and Observation; anyone can learn them-“

“Not everyone can learn conqueror’s?” Tomoe interrupted.

Luffy shook his head. “Nope.” He said, popping the ‘p’. He sent a significant look towards Laya. “Only about one in a million or something like that have the ability and not everyone unlocks it.”

The look wasn’t entirely lost on Tomoe, but she ignored it. “That’s rather low odds… I guess that’s a good thing though. It would be a real pain in the ass if there was a bunch of people capable of knocking whoever they want out cold walking around.”

Laya nodded emphatically and Luffy chuckled. “Yeah, if it worked like that. Conquerors can’t knock out other conquerors or people with strong enough wills, though.”

The conversation continued in this vain for another thirty minutes until Orange town came into view. By then the two other members of the crew were versed in the three forms of haki and what they could expect, in learning and fighting it.

“So what’s the plan?” Tomoe asked upon them disembarking. She wasn’t really sure of the purpose for coming here, other than to restock. She could tell there was one though; her captain — _one_ of them, she corrected — had a gleam in his eye that told her this place was special.

“Meat!” Laya yelled excitedly.

Luffy nodded in agreement with the assessment, causing Laya to cheer and run off.

“MEEeaaa _aat!_ ”

The two remaining members of the crew watched as Laya disappeared into the village, likely following her nose towards the first sign of her favorite food.

“So...plan?”

“Restock and have an adventure along the way.” Luffy responded resolutely.

“And Laya?”

Her captain shrugged. “She’ll be fine; she’s strong.”

Tomoe nodded her understanding and agreement and the two were off.

They didn’t encounter anyone while walking through the town. It was like a ghost town and Tomoe was starting to wonder where the town’s population had gone. It didn’t look like pirates had invaded -- there should be more damage for that -- but she couldn’t think of what else would cause an entire town to become deserted. Disease, maybe?

If that was the case, they should get out of town. She was strong, but there were some things even she couldn’t guard against.

Luffy and Laya too, for that matter.

Just because she hadn’t ever gotten sick before didn’t mean she couldn’t.

“Where is everyone?”

“Hiding.”

Tomoe looked at Luffy with a raised brow. He had answered that very easily and confidently, as if he already knew what was going on here. Did he?

“From what?”

In response, her captain just pointed towards the other side of the town. Her eyes trailed after where his finger was directed and everything clicked into place. Pirates. That was why no one was around, the town had been taken over by pirates.

Why was there not more damage, then? Usually, hostile take-overs involved pillaging, which typically involved burning and ransacking and the like. This place barely looked touched. It was weird.

Even stranger than that, though, was the emblem of the pirates that had made this town their base.

“A...clown?” Tomoe felt a sense of irritation and exasperation at the sheer ridiculousness of whoever was in charge of this crew, potential threat be damned.

Her captain laughed, seeming to know what she was thinking. “Just wait until you meet the captain.”

“You know him?”

“In a way.” Luffy grinned. “He’s a riot.”

Tomoe grunted and the two continued on.

Eventually, they ran across an interesting sight. In front of one of the buildings sat a dog. It was a small, white furred creature with beady black eyes that seemed to peer through her. Tomoe blinked at the little creature and she walked by, watching as its head pivoted on an axis to follow them. She could see the hardened protectiveness in its gaze and figured it thought of itself as a guardian of the building behind it.

She could respect that.

What an interesting little dog, she thought.

As her attention shifted from the dog, back to the road, she noticed something odd. As if something or, perhaps, someone, was missing.

Namely, her captain.

She looked around lazily, a frown on her face. The hell had he disappeared to? Honestly, first Laya runs off and then her other captain goes and gets himself lost, it was pitiful.

“It’s official, I’ve joined a crew full of idiots.” She sighed. “Might as well head towards that tent up there, maybe I’ll run into the captain.”

Tomoe turned on her heels and headed down a connecting path from the main road, meandering down a narrow dirt path in the opposite direction of her destination.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Luffy chuckled to himself as he watch Tomoe wander off in the wrong direction, not noticing that she was leaving him behind as she did so. It seemed that even as a girl, Zoro’s sense of direction was still worth shit. He didn’t even consider bringing her back to the proper path with him. Z-Tomoe would find her way to her destination eventually. Zoro always had, and he trusted Tomoe to do the same.

In the meantime, he had a clown to confront.

The town was just as he remembered it, hazy as the memory was. Deserted, depressing. It made him mad, thinking about how easily Buggy was able to stomp all over people’s lives like this. Luffy still wondered how someone Shanks considered a friend was capable of things like this.

Such a noble pirate, friends with bottom feeding scum. It made no sense.

With his thoughts occupying him, he meandered his way through the town, headless of the conflict going on between a rubber girl, an orange haired girl, and a giant lion a mere two streets away. Eventually, he made his way to his destination, the Big Top -- or at least, the non-boat version.

Clown themed pirates were all loitering about, drinking, partying, and having what would typically considered a good time; at least until you considered they were cheering over their conquering of the town and subjugation of towns people.

Time to bring it screeching to a halt.

Luffy took a great breath, expanding his lungs beyond the capacity of a normal person and catching the attention of a couple of pirates. Then, with a great heave, he expelled. “WHERE’S BIG NOSE?!”

The roar cascaded over the rooftop like a great wave, washing over every person and bringing them to quiet. In one single motion, the party skidded to a halt. Over a hundred pairs of eyes turned to the rubber captain. Anger, confusion, even fear played over the features of the Buggy Pirates.

Silence reigned for all of a moment, broken only by the panicked whisper of a random goon, before the reaction Luffy had been anticipating roared back in answer.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU FLASHY BASTARD?!”

Like the Red Sea, the Buggy Pirates parted with a haste that only fearful men could. Behind them, a red-faced, red-nosed, clown-garbed man with blue hair was glaring daggers at Luffy.

 _“Yep… still looks like a weirdo.”_ Luffy thought. He stepped forward, causing some of the pirates to raise their swords. The tension was high and getting higher with each step he took towards his fellow pirate captain. “The name’s Monkey D. Luffy. You’re Buggy, right?”

The clown glowered at Luffy and took a step forward, his posture blindly aggressive as he raised his hand – a trio of knives glimmered in the sunlight. “That's right. And you're dead! Kill him, flashily!”

“RAAAGH!” Dozens of swords came speeding towards Luffy as the Buggy Pirates bum rushed him with abandon.

CLANG! SNAP! FWOOSH!

Time on top of the saloon froze alongside the minds of every Buggy Pirate present. No one could believe their eyes as they watched almost a dozen swords snap like twigs against the body of the straw-hatted man.

“Hehe! That won't work on me!” Luffy declared, snapping the other pirates out of their stupors.

Several of the clown themed criminals looked ready to go fist-to-cuffs with Luffy, a couple even stepped forward, all sense of fear absent in their foolishness.

“STOP!”

“Eh...?” The buggy pirates stumbled and looked back at their captain, confusion written on their faces.

“But captain-!”

“NO! EVERYONE BACK AWAY FROM HIM, NOW!” The sheer panic present on Buggy's face was foreign enough that the man's subordinates immediately responded, scattering back and eyeing the grinning Luffy warily.

“Captain Buggy, what is wrong? Do you know that man or how he broke those swords? Is he like you?”

Buggy didn't take his wide and fearful eyes away from Luffy, even as he responded to Cabaji. “None of you have been there, so you can't be expected to know. But this man... is from the Grand Line!”  
.  
.  
.  
“EEEEHH!?”

“But captain.” Cabaji said, ever the levelheaded one. “did you not create your ultimate weapon to conquer that very ocean? Why do you act fearful of him?”

“The FIRST HALF of the Grand Line, you dolt! My Buggy balls are designed to help me conquer Paradise and the weaklings that inhabit it! I'm not stupid enough to go anywhere near the second half, where THAT man comes from!” Buggy yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Luffy.

“I...do not understand, Captain Buggy. The halves of the Grand Line? I thought it was all the same?” Several others on the crew also looked confused, no doubt having never considered the Grand Line to be segregated as was being described.

“Understandable, since none of you have been there before.” Buggy responded, his voice sounding more serious than most of the crew had ever heard. “To those that have traveled it, however, its more like two separate oceans with the same name. The first half, the one that everyone from the Four Blues thinks about when they think of the Grand Line, is the one I created my Buggy Balls to conquer. To those that have been to and survived the second half, the first part is known as Paradise. This man, whoever he is, is from the second half or 'The New World'. He's a monster that has no business in an ocean like the East.”

The Buggy Pirates all took a closer look at the intruder; they watched closely as his hand came up and picked his nose with a dull expression on his face.

“I'm afraid I don't see it, Captain.” Cabaji deadpanned.

Buggy grit his teeth. He had come to the East to avoid threats like this! “That's because you don't understand what he did to break those swords. That is a skill only known to those that hail from the deadliest ocean on the planet, and it automatically makes him stronger than anyone else in the Four Blues!”

“EEEHH!?” The crew exclaimed.

“This fool?” They looked at Luffy, still picking his nose. “Truly this world is strange, to have fate grant such power to one so... unspectacular.” Cabaji regarded his captain. “So, what do we do, Captain Buggy?”

The clown-themed criminal rose from his seat, a grim expression on his face. “You all... nothing. Everyone is to stay away from him, no matter what. If he tries to fight you, surrender or run.”

“Eh??? But captain-!”

“YOU FLASHILY HEARD ME!”

The group of pirates recoiled. Never had they seen their captain like this. His anger, it was different than usual.

Buggy stepped with slow, consistent steps towards the stranger on his roof. He hated the unassuming ones. They reminded him of that red-haired bastard – he hated that red-haired bastard. The straw-hat didn't do him any favors either come to think of it.

_“I just hope whatever he wants doesn't involve wanton destruction. There's no telling how useful my powers will be or for how long. If he goes off, we're all dead.”_

When the two captains we're finally face to face, Luffy quit his antics and looked straight into Buggy's eyes, waiting for him to speak.

“Monkey D. Luffy was you're name, right? Why are you here, and what do you want from me?”

Luffy grinned, unnerving the pirate clown with how friendly and unassuming it was. “That's easy. I want to make a deal.”

“A...deal?” Buggy stopped and thought for a second. This could go two very different directions. “What kind of deal?”

Luffy grin got wider and Buggy's nervousness larger along with it. “My crew is going to be here in a little bit to beat you up. I want to let them stand on their own, so I'm not going to step in.”

“I'm failing to see the 'deal' part of this.” Buggy deadpanned. “What, you want me to let them beat me and my crew up to make them feel better or you'll do it yourself? Is that it?”

Luffy frowned. “I said 'deal' not 'threat', pay attention Big Nose.”

A vein popped on Buggy's forehead and he grit his teeth. _“Calm, I am calm. He is an asshole that must die, and I am calm. Always calm.”_ “So what is the 'deal' then?”

“If my crew beats you up, then you leave this town alone and go pirating somewhere else.”

“And if I win?” He knew where this was going. Pirates never played fair – strong and weak didn't matter. He knew the outcome of this...

“Then I leave with my crew and they learn the value of defeat.”

“Shpitgfrpf!” Buggy felt himself expel... everything that was in his mouth on reflex. He looked at the other captain incredulously. What kind of...?! “Are you serious!?”

Luffy blinked. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“Because nobody makes deals like that!”

“Don't be ridiculous. I just did. Weren't you listening?”

“Gah-!” _“This man. He's a complete fool.”_ Buggy thought. _“Still, maybe I can use that. If he really is serious, then there's a chance I can come out of this alive and with my power intact.”_

“This crew... did you recruit them here in the East?”

“Yep! Why?”

“And you haven't given them some super awesome devil fruits from the Grand Line, have you? Or say...trained them in haki?”

Luffy again shook his head. “Nah. One of them already ate one when she was younger and the other wouldn't want to. Haven't had to time to teach them anything either.”

Buggy couldn't keep the victorious grin off his face. What luck! _“Haha! This fool just handed over this town to me! If he's done nothing to bolster their strength then this is a sure fire win for me!”_ “Oh, no reason. I look forward to a good match.”

“Shishishi! That's good, because they're strong.”

Buggy froze for just a moment at those words. ' _Strong_ '. They were strong, he said. By whose standards? New World's or East Blue's? No, he couldn't think like that. He'd already confirmed they were fresh pickings.

“MEN! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

“AARGH!”

Off to the side, Luffy watched in amusement as the Buggy Pirates tried to prepare themselves for the rest of his crew. In one corner, he could see the Buggy Cannon being wheeled into position, while in another, swords and guns were being handed out to those that hadn't been wielding one previously.

None of it would make a difference.

With nothing but time to kill, Luffy hopped up onto the railing of the roof, sat down, and closed his eyes. In an instant, the world disappeared then lit up much brighter than before.

0-0-0-0-0-0

A boom echoed across the mostly deserted streets of the town, dust and debris was flying everywhere and those present to witness the carnage where in shock and awe at what was transpiring before their very eyes.

One of those individuals, a shapely ginger dressed like a thief on Halloween, couldn't believe what she was suddenly apart of. She had been running for her life against a band of Buggy Pirates that had been sent to retrieve a valuable map she had stolen when all of the sudden a small girl wearing a straw hat and screaming about meat came out of nowhere and barreled into them, knocking the whole lot unconscious!

From there it had been a roller coaster of food, weirdly innocent fairy-er, _pirate_ girls, animals both big and small, and no shortage of “wtf” moments. Presently, that same small pirate girl was mercilessly pounding a very large (read: house size) and intimidating lion into the pavement.

A part of her said that the strange girl - Monkey D. Laya she thought it was – was being too vicious in her treatment of the animal and its owner – a weird pervert with animal ears and a whip – but a quick glance at a ruined building just to her left reminded her of why the pirate girl had gone off the way she had.

 _'You bastards! Messing with an innocent person's treasure like that!'_ Laya's rage filled words rung in her ears and she shook her head. Everything about this situation was beyond bizarre and it all hinged on the oddity that was Monkey D. Laya.

_"She calls herself a pirate, but pirates don't act like that. I should know."_

The ginger pulled herself from her thoughts as she noticed Laya standing over the downed form of the massive lion and Buggy Pirate member. Despite winning, the girl looked more solemn than she had been thus far.

Without a word, Laya walked over to the ruined building where a small white dog sat, his beady black eyes watching the lithe girl intently. Laya knelt in front of the dog and set down a box of something that the ginger thief quickly recognized.

_“The box of dog food that they stole... That's what she was after? All of that, for a bit of dog food?”_

“Here. This is what you wanted, right?” Laya said the to the dog. She sat down next to him as the two faced the ruins of the building that the dog food had come from. “Everything you've done for this place... for the memory of your owner, has been good. You're a good dog, Chouchou.”

The dog ruffed once, then stood and turned to walk away, picking up the dog food as he went. Before he disappeared around the corner, he stopped, turned to Laya, and ruffed again. The girl nodded in return and the dog disappeared.

It was a minute more before Laya hopped to her feet and dusted herself off, her previous broad grin stretching her face.

“Thank you, miss, for doing that. I could never have hoped to stood up to that behemoth and seeing Chouchou's treasure be soiled in such a manner was heartbreaking.”

From off to the side, an older man with poufy white hair and what looked like leather plate-armor stepped forward. Like the thief, the man had been sidelined while Laya fought the lion and tamer.

Laya looked over and shrugged the thanks off. “Don't worry about it, Mayor guy. I did it for Chouchou. He's a good dog that doesn't deserve to have his treasure messed with by that scum.”

“Regardless, you have my thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go show some scum of the earth why you don't tread on the lives of good people!” The mayor marched off in the direction that the lion and tamer had originally come from, purpose in his step and anger in his eyes.

“Ah! Mayor Boodle, wait! You can't just go after the Buggy pirates like that, you'll get killed!” The ginger called out in a panic.

“I don't care! They've taken over our town! Ruled by fear! And now they've destroyed the legacy of a dear friend to not only Chouchou, but myself and the rest of the town as well! This has gone on long enough and as mayor to this town, it is my solemn duty to defend it, no matter the co-”

Without warning Mayor Boodle dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Standing above him, Laya retracted her arm.

She gaped at the straw-hatted girl. “What did you do that for! You could have hurt him!” _“Figures! She may be weird, but she's still a pirate. Of course she would resort to violence!”_

Laya turned on her, a hard look in her usually friendly gaze. “He was going to get himself killed. You know that as well as I do. Nothing we said would have stopped him, so I knocked him out. Did you have a better idea?”

“Ah...well...no, but...” She floundered for something to say. Okay, so maybe the girl was right. That didn't mean she had to like it!

“Great! Anyway, I'm gonna go beat up those pirates now, wanna come Nami?”

Nami blinked. Not sure of what to say. Go after the Buggy Pirates? Was this girl even sane... actually scratch that, it was clear from earlier interactions that Laya wasn't at all right in the head. Still... she looked over to the down lion and tamer. Those two had been strong, the second mate if she was correct. If Laya could cream them without too much trouble, then maybe the rest of the crew wouldn't be an issue? Did that mean she should tag along though?

No, no it did not. There was absolutely no reason for her to go along with this girl on her wackadoo vengeance binge.

Then again...

She looked over her shoulder at the destroyed pet shop, then over to where Chouchou had left with his treasure, then to the unconscious form of Boodle that Laya was resting against the wall of a nearby building.

Nami sighed. “Fine, I'm in. _But!_ Only to steal their treasure, you hear me!? I want to pay them back for Chouchou and the Mayor, but I'll do it _my_ way, understand?”

“Shishishi! Of course, I wouldn't make a member of my crew fight when they don't want to.”

Nami groaned. “We've been over this, girlie, I'm not becoming a pirate. No matter how strange of one you might be, a pirate is still a pirate and I want nothing to do with it!”

The excessively energetic and enthusiastic girl simply smiled and gave a small laugh, clearly not taking Nami's words seriously. “Yeah... but I need a navigator, and I already said I wanted you, so you have to join!”

“THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING YOU IDIOT!” She raged. “STOP BEING OBTUSE!”

The girl blinked and tilted her head. “Ob-tuse?”

Nami sighed. “Just...let's go make the Buggy Pirates pay.”

“Shishishi! Alright, let's go!”

0-0-0-0-0-0

Tomoe sighed as she took a right turn. Damn it! Why wasn't she getting anywhere? She'd been walking for over half an hour already and had yet to find a single pirate, let alone her captains.

She took another right turn and looked around at the buildings, hopping to see something familiar. “Tch. Why do people insist on building everything to look the same? No wonder its so easy to lose track of where you're going!”

She took another right turn.

“I hope these people have some good booze for when this is over. Been forever since I've had any...” Her mind went back to Ririka's service of them while they were still in Shells Town and her stomach practically quivered in anticipation of the sensation.

She took another turn, a right this time.

Five minutes and a fair few alcoholic fantasies later and Tomoe stopped in her tracks. “Alright,” she grumbled. “this is getting ridiculous. New plan.” With a grunt of exertion, Tomoe crouched and launched off the ground. With barely a thud from her boots, she landed on the roof of the nearest building.

The swordswoman looked around the town, trying to relocate her target. Eventually the eyesore that was the Big Top mobile tent caught her notice and she grinned viciously. “Cannon fodder here I come!”

0-0-0-0-0-0

“Aren't you're crew supposed to be coming?” Buggy asked. It'd been over half an hour since the mysterious captain had appeared and issued his challenge and no one had appeared. At one point, Moji's lion had come running with his tail between his legs, and his second-in-command had left abruptly to 'deal with a couple of interlopers that think they can hurt my precious lion and get away with it', but that was it.

Perhaps those 'interlopers' were this guy's crew? If that was the case then it seemed the battle had already begun and he didn't even realize.

The strange pirate smiled a carefree smile. “They're coming. Tomoe closest, surprisingly. Laya and Nami are pretty close to, though. They should be here any minute now.”

Buggy's eye twitched at the casual use of advanced observation haki. Stupid new world pirates and their stupid powers.

“Hi Tomoe!” Luffy suddenly called, surprising the Buggy Pirates. Everyone looked around frantically, ultimately coming across the ronin-esk woman with long, green hair standing casually against the railing of the roof. Hanging limply from one of her hands was a dazed and battered Buggy Pirate.

“ _Captain_... _please_... _help_... _monster_...”

Buggy cringed inwardly at the state of his subordinate. Poor fool. He eyes roved over the woman that was holding him. Loose, ronin-esk clothing: check. Green hakama: check. Ivy-like, green hair: check. Three dangly earrings: check. Three swords on her waist: check. Yep, this was Roronoa Tomoe.

 _“What the hell!? Why is a_ pirate hunter _on the crew of a pirate?!”_ He thought to himself. It wasn't supposed to work like that! He knew of the girl's reputation; how she was the strongest bounty hunter in the east. She would be a formidable opponent to almost anyone in the East. _“Of course, I'm not just anyone. If the rumors are true and she's a die hard sword user then she won't stand a chance against me.”_

“I see you've found some talent after all, straw hat.” Buggy said confidently. “You must have skill to get a pirate hunter of her caliber to become the very thing she makes money turning into the marines.”

Luffy just sat there with a satisfied smile on his face.

“I'm guessing these are the guys you were talking about, Captain?” Tomoe asked.

“Yep. By the way, I made a deal while we were waiting.”

Tomoe raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh?”

“You guys fight the Buggy Pirates. If you win, they leave. If they win, we leave.”

The swordswoman thought about it for a moment, carelessly dropping the wounded pirate as she crossed her arms in consideration. “I assume we're waiting for Laya?”

“Yep.”

“Any rules?”

“Win.”

“And you won't be joining?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” She grinned viciously. “Count me in.”

“Shishishi! I knew you'd like the idea.”

“I didn't get as good a workout as I'd like in Shells Town.” Tomoe shrugged. “I'm was starting to get restless.” The swordswoman reclined against the railing, giving a couple of Buggy Pirates a hard stare as they retrieved the downed member by her legs. The duo gulped and scurried just a bit faster.

It was a tense two minutes before Laya appeared on the roof of the building, an orange-haired guest tagging along for the chaotic ride that was transportation via rubber powers.

Luffy immediately recognized the orange head of hair for who she was and felt his whole body decompress from a tension he didn't even realize he had been holding in.

Nami was here.

Nami was safe.

Nami was still a _girl_.

Thank The Meat.

“Hey Laya!” He called with a happy wave. “We were waiting for you to start.”

The otherwise collected expression of the rubber girl faltered as she looked at her brother. “Start what?” She asked, head tilted in confusion.

“It would seem our illustrious captain has entered us into a bet involving the Buggy Pirates.” Tomoe answered. The woman's eyes were still closed and her posture still relaxed. “We win, they leave the town alone. They win, we leave the town to their control.”

Nami gaped in shock at the sudden turn of events. She was still trying to process who these new people were and how they knew Laya; she wasn't ready for a game changer like that!

And what the hell was wrong with these people so casually betting the fate of a town like that!? It was stuff like this that made her hate pirates!

Laya looked over at Luffy. “Hey Luffy.”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me first next time.”

“Sure.” The male captain nodded, his face neutral. “No problems then?”

Laya shifted her attention to a thus silent Buggy. “Nope.”

“WHAT!?”

Everyone looked at Nami, the fuming ginger appearing ready to throttle Laya and half the people there.

Laya blinked at her, confusion apparent. “What's the matter Nami?”

Nami gaped once more. She couldn't believe this... this... “'What's the matter Nami?' I'll _tell_ you what the matter is, miss _pirate_. How about the fact that you're _proffering_ an _entire town_ for the sake of some _bet_.” The girl spat out. The venom in her voice was clear and any good will the odd pirate girl might have garnered with her was rapidly evaporating into thin air. “You really are just like every other scum on the ocean if you're willing to do something like this.”

The occupants of the roof tops watched on silently as her fists clenched and face tightened angrily. Her whole body shook as she tried to contain her urge to lash out at the fiendish behavior before her.

 _“How despicable!”_ Nami's thoughts echoed. _“And to think she seemed so nice... was it all just an act? Am I really that foolish?”_

“That's what you're worried about?” Laya asked lamely. “Don't worry, Nami. We won't lose; we're strong.”

“That doesn't mean anything!” She ground out. “You can't just assume you'll win something like this! Especially when the odds are so against you!”

“Then you clearly don't have much fighting experience.”

Nami blinked and looked to her left. Tomoe had opened her eyes and was staring down the navigator. It would have been intimidating any other day; as things were, she was more insulted.

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Nami asked indignantly, arms crossed under her bosom. “And who are you anyway? One of _her_ friends, I assume.”

“If by 'her' you mean Laya, then yeah. She's one of my captains. As for the first thing...” Tomoe gestured around the roof top. “Take a closer look at that lot. Canon fodder, all of them. One or two might be worth a damn, but other than the captain and his primary officers its unlikely that a single person on their crew will pose a threat to either myself or Laya. She knows this, I know this, Luffy knows this, hell I bet even they know this.”

“It's called strength in numbers-”

“Irrelevant.”

Nami growled. She looked over to the last member of Laya's little gang; the one that was apparently the cause of this. He looked content as ever to just sit on the sidelines and watch, which only pissed her off more.

“Hey! Orange-haired girl!”

“What?!” She glowered. The man seemed unfazed, unfortunately.

“You were here for a reason, right? Feel free to do what you want while Laya and Tomoe beat them up.”

“And what do _you_ know of my reasons for being here?”

The straw-hat wearing man just smiled, unnerving Nami and kindling her anger at the carefree attitude running rampant at the moment. What happened to the seriousness that Laya displayed at Chouchou's situation? Was that gone? She looked over to the girl, studied her face, her body. She seemed so serious, like she hadn't forgotten her anger at the Buggy Pirates. Then why was she okay with simply leaving if they lost?!

“Nami.”

The girl in question blinked, only to realize the very person she was focused on was addressing her. “Uh...yeah?”

Laya shifted her head, just enough so that Nami could clearly see the fire in her eyes – the conviction. “We're gonna win.”

Indignation welled back up. “You can't-”

“We're gonna win, Nami. No matter what. So don't worry, okay?”

Nami was taken aback by the strong words, spoken without a ounce of hesitation or bravado. She could see and practically feel the conviction. Was that why she agreed to the deal; because in her mind there was only one outcome anyway?

That was so... she huffed and growled in frustration. Life didn't work like that!

However, it was apparent to her that no amount of words would change the mind of anyone here. The sword lady looked ready to tear someone to pieces and that guy that looked like Laya's twin – were they related? - seemed as casual as ever... was he _sleeping_? Nami fought the urge to vent her irritation once more and sighed heavily. “Fine. Do whatever you want. Not like I can stop you anyway.”

She received a large and happy grin for her efforts, courtesy of the cutest pirate she'd ever come across. “Thanks for understanding, Nami!”

“Finally ready?” Tomoe asked impatiently.

“Yep!”

“Good.”

“FIRE!”

The two fighters' attention snapped over to the center of the Buggy Pirates where a oversized canon was currently being lit.

And was pointed directly at them.

Tomoe cursed and ran to the side. Nami screamed in fright and ran the other way. And Laya...

“Gomu Gomu no...” She sucked in a major breath, rapidly expanding her body outward. Larger and large her center got until it was nearly as large as the canon itself.

BOOM!

Everyone, bar Luffy and Tomoe, froze in motion as they witnessed Buggy's ultimate weapon cave in the rubber girl's stomach like a giant spring board. Inch by inch it went deeper; the further it disappeared from sight, the more quickly certain individuals were realizing what was about to happen.

“MEN! RETREAT!”

The Buggy Pirates scrambled to flee, running over each other in their attempts to escape.

“Fusen!”

Laya flexed her stomach, activating the rebound mechanism in her technique and hurling the deadly canon ball back at the Buggy pirates. The mass of iron and explosives shot back almost as fast as its original velocity right into the heart of the Buggy Pirates.

KABOOOOM!

The explosion engulfed the opposing crew and their captain. The resulting shockwave knocked Tomoe skidding back and sent Nami flying.

The girl screamed in pain and shock as she felt herself be launched through the air. Her dazed awareness was only barely able to register that she was flying over the railing of the building and rapidly towards the ground below. Their was no time to be afraid, however, as a stretchy arm quickly wrapped itself around her midsection and pulled her back to safety.

Nami noticed the stretchy limb and straw-hat and immediately felt grateful towards her somewhat friendly acquaintance. “Thanks Laya, you saved me there.”

“Huh?” Her rescuer said in a much deeper voice than she expected. “You alright, Nami?”

Nami did her best to bring her senses back to bear and get her mind clear as she took stock of who exactly it was that had saved her. Soon enough the slightly concerned face of Laya's crewmate and possible brother registered properly in her vision.

“You!”

“Me?”

“You saved me? Why?”

Now Luffy just looked confused. “What do you mean why? You were falling and would have gotten hurt if I hadn't.”

“But you don't even know me.”

Nami couldn't help but feel offended at the look she received for saying that. As if she were a fool for even speaking such nonsense.

“So? You're Laya's friend, that's enough for me.”

“I'm not her friend.” She replied reflexively. “She's a pirate. I don't make friends with pirates.”

Luffy just hummed non-committedly. “Say... you want help raiding their treasure after we win?”

“Huh? How did you-”

“Ooh! Stuff is happening!”

Nami eyed the man suspiciously, but allowed herself to be distracted for the moment. The pair turned back to the fight, where Buggy and Cabaji were the only two left standing, having used their crewmates to shield themselves from the blast.

At present, Tomoe was taking on Cabaji while Luffy engaged Buggy himself. Both looked to be growing increasingly frustrated with the gimmicks of their opponents.

“Stop. Jumping. Around!” Tomoe growled as she blocked another 'Acrobatic Slash Attack' from the circus pirate. Jump, slash, dodge. Jump, slash, dodge. It was the same thing over and over. She was starting to get pissed off at the pseudo-swordsmanship being displayed. With all of the circus performer's trick weapons dispatched with ease he resorted to hit-and-run tactics.

It was pathetic and disgraceful.

“Haha! Can you not keep up, Pirate Hunter? Is this the extent of your prowess? I expected more! Fall before my skillful swordsmanship!”

Tomoe growled and blocked a spinning slash to the back of her head. A hard push against the blade lock threw the cyclist off his balance. Her other arm came around and swung her second blade across Cabaji's chest faster than he could react. Cloth tore and blood splattered, coating Tomoe and her blade.

“GAH!” Her opponent fell off his unicycle and clutched at his chest. Pain and fear filled his face as he scuttled backwards, one hand on his wound and the other clutching his sword hilt.

Tomoe sheathed one of her swords and stalked over to his fallen form, her annoyance clear. “Amateurs really should learn not to run their mouths when they're fighting. It creates openings.”

A harsh swing from her lone blade knocked Cabaji's sword out of his weakened grip and away. Tomoe turned her sword around and swung again, hitting the back side of her weapon against her opponent's head. She huffed and sheathed her sword, before directing her attention to Luffy's fight.

The two devil fruit users had been going at it viciously ever since the dust had settled. In much the same way that Cabaji had been avoiding all of Tomoe's strikes by jumping around, Buggy was splitting his body apart to move it out of the way of Laya's incoming attacks. Again and again his torso, head, and limbs would fly around and weave in between all of Laya's attempts to strike them, all the while using the blades in his fingers to strike at her blind spots.

“Stupid clown, won't let me hit him!” Laya grunted out.

“Gyahahaha! Having a hard time, straw hat? Here, how about a hand!”

Laya jerked left to avoid the sudden appearance of a knife wielding hand as it zoomed past her head. Another bit of movement caught her eye and she jumped back, flipping into a spin as Buggy's second hand attempted to skewer her across the middle. She came out of her spin and immediately had to duck to avoid the first hand that had returned for another shot.

Laya's hand shot into the air and grabbed at her opponent's detached appendage, gripping it strongly as it flailed. A cry of pain erupted from Buggy's throat as she tightened her grip, crushing the bones in his hand. The clown pirate's other appendage attacked again, gunning for Laya's hand to release it's partner, but the rubber girl jumped and kicked the gloved appendage away.

Her grip on the hand increased again and the sound of creaking bones was practically audible. Buggy cursed in pain and she squeezed tighter, trying to take out her opponent's primary means of attack.

“Stupid girl! Are you trying to crush all the bones in my hand?!”

“Obviously, Big Nose!”

“Damnit, don't call me that!” Suddenly her grip on Buggy's hand shifted. In an instant her commanding grip disappeared and the appendage split itself into dozens of smaller slivers and slid out from her fingers and away from her.

“Ah!” Laya exclaimed in surprise.

The trio of knives previously held by Buggy fell to the ground, clattering uselessly at Laya's feet as the disassembled hand fused together once more. The moment it was whole it rushed for the knives to use once more.

Laya growled and tried to punch it back but was forced to dodge away from the second hand, allowing the first to reclaim the blades.

On the sides lines, Luffy watched with interest as his female counterpart battled against a much more competent Buggy. At least, he was pretty sure that Buggy wasn't this skilled in his time-line. At the very minimum he had never done that hand splitting trick.

It seemed more than just his crew's genders were different in this world.

He wondered who else was of a different strength compared to how he remembered them.

Regardless, Buggy was still too weak to actually beat Laya. It was only a matter of time...

“Are neither of you going to step in to help?”

“Hmm?” Luffy glanced over at Nami's disbelieving and slightly distressed tone. “Why would we do that?”

“Seriously!? Can't you see that she needs help?”

Luffy turned back to the fight and squinted, trying to see whatever it was Nami did. A moment later he shrugged. “Nope. I can't see anything like that. Tomoe?”

The swordswoman, who had since joined them on the sidelines, shook her head. “Not a thing.”

“Ugh! I can't believe you people. Do you not care!?” The girl raged. This whole situation didn't make any sense; these people didn't make any sense. Why was she – the one outsider – the only one that seemed concerned with the well-being of Laya. Wasn't that the job of these two: her crew?

Luffy matched her anger fueled gaze with his own levelled one. “This is Laya's fight. It's not our place to step in until she's not able to fight anymore, or asks us to.”

“Still...”

“Besides,” Luffy continued. “she doesn't need our help. She's about to win.”

“Eh?!” Nami blinked and focused back on the battle.

True to Luffy's words and predictions, the tone of the battle changed as soon as Laya was able to separate the knives from the one of Buggy's hands. Like before, she managed to take hold of it; only this time she focused on the knives. As soon as Buggy disassembled his hand and allowed the knives to fall to the ground she snatched them out of the air and chucked them into the distance, too far for Buggy to retrieve.

The man growled at the move and looked around for another weapon to use, only to come up empty.

“The hell?! Where'd all the swords go!?” He screamed.

Off to the side, Luffy laughed and sent a smile towards a smirking Tomoe, much to the surprise of Nami.

Soon enough Buggy was without his second set of weapons and Laya went on the offensive. Unfortunately, just like before Buggy pulled out his ability to split apart and float around Laya's attacks left them at a standstill.

“I thought you said this would be over soon. It looks like they've stalemated to me.” Nami commented snidely.

Luffy hummed. “She'll figure it out eventually. Until then, she's in no danger of losing.”

On that, at least, they could agree. From where Nami was standing it seemed clear enough that Buggy was only capable of annoying Laya at this point and thus prolonging his inevitable defeat.

It was almost three minutes later that something changed in the atmosphere of the fight. A gleam of inspiration appeared in Laya's eyes and her frustrated features relaxed into a easy smirk.

The others watched with interest as Laya worked to get Buggy's separated body closer together, baiting the clown's body into a single spot as he tried to dodge her increasingly vicious and accurate attacks. Every so often a yelp could be heard from wherever the pirate's head was floating, indicating that Laya had managed to land a direct hit on a soft spot of his body.

Eventually, once Buggy was right where she wanted him, Laya pulled out a move that only one other person had seen previously.

“Gomu Gomu no...” The girl threw her hands out to the sides, then with a great flinging motion threw them forward, her fingers spread wide.

“AMI!” Laya's fingers shot out, extending far beyond the reach of her hands and engulfing the majority of Buggy's body.

The clown squawked in shock and disbelief and tried to disassemble himself to escape through the gaps in Laya's fingers but she was prepared. With a flex of her powers, Laya's fingers shrunk down and tightened, forcing Buggy into a tighter ball and breaking his concentration through the sudden and severe pain of being crushed alive.

Before he could recover a sense of coherency Laya acted. Her body twisted violently, and she swung her arms like whips. The Buggy ball at the end followed rapidly, following behind at an ever increasing pace. Another twist and Laya jerked her arms in an upwards arc, sending them over her head and then straight down as fast as she could. The unwilling passenger in her net screamed through the air and towards the concrete surface of the roof.

BOOM!

Like an explosive going off Buggy slammed into the ground, throwing up debris and dust from the force. A scream had escaped his lips at the pain and the more keen present were sure that they could her something break, but Laya wasn't done.

“How about another one!” The girl yelled. “Take... _this_!” She swung again, this time in the opposite direction. Once more, Buggy made a precarious arc as he wizzed through the air like a speeding bullet, too dazed to help himself.

BOOM!

Again.

BOOM!

Again.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Luffy, Tomoe, and Nami watched as Laya swung her arms back and forth, using them like oversized whips to hurl her thoroughly beaten and battered opponent into the concrete until he was little more than an unconscious pile of bruises and crushed bones.

Only when the female captain was satisfied that her foe wouldn't be getting back up did she return her fingers to normal, retracting them back to her -- regular sized and undamaged.

“Shishishishi!” Luffy suddenly broke out laughing. “I knew you could do it.”

Laya grinned and gave a peace sign towards her brother. “Easy!”

Tomoe snorted, but didn't comment and Nami looked on, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

“So Nami!” Laya said, suddenly appearing before the girl and giving her a small heart-attack. “Now that we're done here, what do you say you come with us?”

Nami started in surprise at the sudden movement and proposal. The excitability of the young captain threw her off guard, but she was quick to regain her composure. Her eyes narrowed and she stuck her finger out, poking the girl right above her cleavage.

“I _already_ told you, that I. Am. Not. A. Pirate!” She ground out. “Why can't you get that through your thick, rubbery skull!?”

Laya, stubborn as she was, just frowned at the words. “Why does that matter though? So you're not a pirate right _now_. That doesn't mean you can't become one! Everyone has to start somewhere, ya know.”

Off to the side, Luffy nodded his head at the logic, enjoying seeing Laya trying to persuade Nami to their side. It brought back fond memories of the early days. Sure, it was happening differently, but Nami's reticence was so characteristic it was sending his mind right back.

The orange-haired thief growled in frustration. “That doesn't mean I want to become one! I HATE pirates! Why the hell would I want to become something I HATE!?”

“Does that mean you hate me?”

“Grk!” Nami recoiled, unable to cope with the sight in front of her. Laya, disheartened by Nami's words, let her face drop into a pout. Her bottom lip began to tremble and her eyes went wide and pearly with tears.

Tomoe felt sweat drip down her brow and she turned away as casually as she could manage.

Luffy sniggered.

Seconds passed and Laya's expression somehow got even more pitiful. It wasn't wasn't long before it grew to be too much for the other girl.

“Alright ALRIGHT!” Nami yelled, turning away and pushing Laya's head back with her hand. “Just stop looking at me like that!”

Laya cheered and laughed, jumping in success. Luffy gave her a thumbs up, which she returned.

“HOWEVER!” Nami exclaimed. “Don't think this is me joining your crew!”

Laya stopped jumping, her smile dropped and her head tilted a little in confusion. “I don't understand.”

Nami's hands found her hips and her eyes narrowed. “I'm not gonna repeat myself about pirates.” She sighed. “That being said. Having watched you all... I _guess_ I can acknowledge that you aren't quite like others that I've met and seen. _So_ , I wouldn't mind travelling with you for a little bit in a mutually beneficial exchange.”

“What kind of exchange?” Tomoe asked. She got the strange feeling that she was the only person present that had zero clue about why Laya was wanting this other girl on their crew. “Are you saying that you have something of value to us?”

Nami glanced over at the much more intimidating female critically. “As a matter of fact, I am. Laya here told me that you need a navigator, and I just so happen to be the best there is.”

“ _reallly?_ ”

“Really.”

“I see. And the thing we'll be giving you?”

Nami grinned like a cat. “Gold.”

“...how much gold?”

Nami paused, considering the question for a moment, then nodded to herself. “Say, 70%? I think that sounds fair.”

Tomoe choked on her own spit and goggled at the ginger. “The hell are you on?! That's theft!”

“And?” Nami asked dully. “I'm a pirate thief. A.k.a someone that steals from pirate scum.” She pointed at her herself. “ _Thief_.” She then pointed at Tomoe and the others. “ _Pi-rates_. You should be glad I'm only taking seventy-percent. Most aren't so fortunate.”

“Yes. How benevolent.” Tomoe retorted with narrowed eyes. She looked at Laya. “Are you sure about this? We don't even know if she's actually capable or if she's just pulling our legs to take our cash.”

Laya nodded emphatically. “I want her on the crew! I don't care what it costs.”

Nami and Tomoe both looked surprised at the words, but Tomoe still referred to Luffy. “And what's say you, captain?”

Nami did another silent double take at the question, looking between Laya and Luffy in confusion.

“I'm fine with it.” Luffy answered immediately. “As long as we have enough to keep basic provisions then she can have as much as she wants.”

Laya cheered and Nami looked slightly baffled that Luffy would blindly support her in such a manner – just one more thing about him that was odd in regards to her, she thought.

Tomoe grunted but acquiesced. She may not like it, but both her captains were of a similar mind so it didn't matter. She would just have to trust their judgement and be prepared for the worst case scenario.

“It's settled then. We have our navigator!”

“Temporarily!”

“Shishishi! Next stop: the Grand Line!”

WHAP! “Don't get ahead of yourself!”

“Shishishi! Oh man, you guys are great.”

Tomoe chuckled alongside her male captain. It seemed things would only be getting more energetic with the latest addition.

Eventually the group settled down enough to properly take stock of the situation and go about cleaning everything up. The dozens of Buggy pirates that were laying around were gathered up – dead in one pile and unconscious in another. A third pile was wordlessly created for the... hard to handle remains scattered among the roof to be dealt with later.

One hour, a healthy amount of shock and awe and disgust, and no small amount of rope or burlap later, the tiny crew were standing in front of the ship of the Buggy pirates; the defeated crew (both alive and not) were on board and ready to pushed away from the dock and out to sea – away from the island as promised.

“Anything else to do before we leave, captain?”

“Actually. I have a question.” Nami stated. Her face was serious and it looked like she was ready to lay into Luffy all of a sudden.

“Hmm? What's up Nami?”

“I blame all of the nonsense of the last hour for letting it slip my mind until now, but I haven't forgotten the deal you made with that blue-haired bastard. Before I go anywhere with you and your crew, I want to know: why did you make that deal? Why not just beat him up? And why didn't you join in on the fight? What, are you too weak? Or do you just get some sick enjoyment from watching your crew fight?” The flurry of questions came one after another with no time to answer. The intensity of the resident navigator increased with each one and by the end she was practically huffing with frustration. “Answer incorrectly and I'm leaving. No second chance.”

The atmosphere was tense and heavy. One wrong word and it would be over. Laya looked like she wanted to say a hundred things and had no idea which one to choose first. Tomoe seemed a little contemplative. And Luffy...

“That's easy.” He shrugged. “I wanted to give Tomoe and Laya a chance to fight.”

“THAT'S IT!?” She exploded. “You wanted them to _fight_? What if they had lost!? And what about you, huh? Were you just too lazy and weak to fight yourself so you made your crew do it for you?!”

Tomoe scoffed and Nami whirled on her. “And what are _you_ on about!?”

The swordswoman gazed back, unperturbed. “Everything you just said, perhaps? I thought it might be the case, but Luffy just confirmed it. He was giving us a chance to test ourselves.”

“Huh?”

Tomoe sighed. Leave it to a non-fighter to be confused and mad about such things. And why was she the one explaining this? Luffy was the one that put them in this mess with his plan. “You're new, so I can't exactly fault you for not knowing, but Luffy is stronger than me and Laya...combined.”

Nami's eyes widened in disbelief and shot over to the man in question who was currently picking his nose in disinterest. Her understanding of the situation took a sudden and drastic turn as her mind ran through the implications of that kind of strength.

“But what about the deal? You said you would just leave if they lost; how do you explain away that kind of callousness?”

“Something tells me we wouldn't have left without having a bit of fun first, right captain?”

Luffy stopped in his antics and grinned. “Yeah, I never planned on leaving Buggy and his crew in charge. If Tomoe and Laya had lost I would have just kicked their asses myself on the way out.”

“So...this whole time...it was just-”

“A way to keep Buggy from running away long enough to put up a proper fight.”

Nami was left speechless.

“That answers all your questions, right Nami?” Laya asked. “You'll sail with us now, right?”

The other girl just looked at Laya, not able to say anything positive or negative as the situation settled in her mind, along with the type of people that she was currently dealing with.

Yeah, they were pirates and she hated pirates.

But these three were probably the strangest, most counterintuitive pirates she had ever had the simultaneous misfortune and pleasure of encountering. And dare she say it, but...

...she was actually a little fond of them. Well, she was fond of Laya. The other two seemed okay, she guessed, now that everything was cleared up. The jury was still out, otherwise. She supposed if Laya liked them so much they couldn't be too bad though.

The girl was a fan of Nami herself, after all.

Eventually, Nami gave Laya a nod and small smile. She supposed it really couldn't hurt to travel with someone so carefree and happy all of the time – especially if her and the rest of the crew were so strong. It would only be temporary, of course, but with the kind of life she lived, one had to take what they're given.

Laya cheered and hugged Nami, crushing her in a vice grip that was many times stronger than the fairy-like girl appeared to be. Nami begged for mercy, but only got amusement in return.

With the knowledge that they would be setting out with another crewmate, and were now capable of actually choosing their next destination, the crew set about preparing for the departure.

The first thing to be done was sending off the Buggy Pirates. With the mass majority of the crew out of commission and the few who were coming back to consciousness tied up with the rest there was no way for them to properly steer the ship. Thankfully, this was the East Blue, where drifting aimlessly was less dangerous than on literally ever other ocean in the world, so they would probably be just fine until they could get free.

After a less than tearful farewell, they hauled it back to the sight of the Buggy Pirates' base and raided it for everything it was worth. Bounty, Booze, and Beli was on their minds and they took everything they could reasonably carry with them.

As they were loading their prizes onto their newly confiscated ship, complete with clown-themed jolly roger, a noise from the shore caught their attention.

The four-man crew turned to see a small white dog sitting on the beginning of the pier, right next to an old man with odd hair and even odder armor.

 _“Hmm? They look familiar.”_ Luffy thought.

Laya dropped what she was holding and smiled at the pair, waving in greeting. “Chouchou! Mayor guy! Your town is safe now! You guys can rest easy, alright?”

The old man, Mayor Boodle, looked halfway torn between shock at the development and wanting to cry in wonder at such a miracle happening to his town. “Truly, you are better than your status, my dear! To think, ones such as you existed in this world. This town and I can never repay you for what you've done; should you ever need it, you have an alley and safe haven here.”

Chouchou barked in agreement and waged his tail.

“Shishishi! Thanks Mayor, Chouchou, but we'll be fine!”

The other three members of the straw-hats looked on at the scene with varying thoughts – one with a growing resignation that her world-view was not iron-clad, one with simple joy at seeing old bonds being forged once more, and another with curious thoughts of who the strange man and doggie were.

The preparations continued even as Laya said goodbye to her two new acquaintances and soon they were ready to set sail. As the young crew was pushing off, accompanied by the farewell calls and barks of the duo on shore the group settled in for the trip to the next island – wherever that may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as much fun to write as chapter one, but still an enjoyable experience. I had a much harder time writing this one than the first - partially because of how long it is, but also because of my desire to keep everyone as close to their canon counterparts as possible (accounting for differences due to gender and altered history). While OOC will eventually develop into their characters due to...reasons, for now there isn't much reason for them to be different. Hopefully, I have succeeded. I think I have.
> 
> Anyway! That's all for now folks, have a marvelously marveled week and remember: the grass is always greener past the fence you can't see behind,  
> ~TMCO


	3. Pussyfooting Around the Doll House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrival at the Land of Waffles and Syrup... I mean, liars and murderers... I prefer the first one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long. School is starting back up and move-in/preparing has taken a lot of time. The chapter has actually been done for a bit, I just couldn't find the time to proofread. Hopefully I didn't miss anything. Anyway, enjoy!

“So let me get this straight.”  
  
The group were currently sailing to an island chain labeled the 'Gecko Islands' on command of Luffy and curious but carefree agreement from Laya. They had only just had time to settle in for the trip when Nami brought up something that had been on her mind for a while.  
  
“You two are twins and co-captains,”  
  
“Yep.”  
  
“That didn't know each other until earlier this week and just decided on a whim to do this together.”  
  
“Hmm...yeah, sounds about right.”  
  
“And that's supposed to work how exactly? No matter how in-sync you two might be at present, that's not gonna last forever. You will come to conflict. What exactly does that mean for the rest of us when you do? Have you thought a way to resolve issues?”  
  
Luffy and Laya looked at each other, then Nami. As one they responded, “Fight it out.”  
  
“THAT'S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!” She raged, before huffing in irritation. “Honestly, you two. If you're going to be my captains for however long this agreement lasts than you'll have to actually act like leaders. I refuse to have you two duking it out every time you disagree on if we should go right or left at the fork.”  
Luffy just waved her off. “You worry too much Nami.”  
  
Laya nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Me and Luffy will only fight over important stuff.”  
  
“Like meat.”  
  
The two captains were in sync as they nodded like sages. Nami groaned.  
  
“What is my life anymore?”  
  
“Freer?” Luffy provided.  
  
“Funner?” Laya chimed in.  
  
“Just... nevermind.” The navigator got up from her seat and walked to the back of the boat, where the cabin was. “I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me if we're about to die.”  
  
“Okay!”  
  
“Sure thing Nami.”  
  
In short order the two were alone on the deck. Tomoe, having fallen asleep almost immediately after departure, didn't count.  
  
Luffy reclined in his seat, his hat placed over his face as he allowed the waves to rock him into a soothing lull. A light pressure sank onto his lap as Laya laid down and used him as a pillow, blankly staring into the sky as the clouds moved past.  
  
It didn't take long for boredom to set in.  
  
The female captain turned her head to look at her counter-part. She couldn't tell if he was awake or not.  
  
“Soooo....” Laya hummed. “Wanna do something?”  
  
“Like what?” Came the muffled reply.  
  
“Arm wrestle?”  
  
“Nah. We'd break the boat.”  
  
Laya pouted, but conceded his point. This was a fragile boat. “Foot wrestle?”  
  
“Same thing.”  
  
Ah...right. Darn. “Hmm... Race?”  
  
“Where?”  
  
“The sky?”  
  
“You can't fly yet.”  
  
“You can teach me.”  
  
“Nope. Boat's too small, you'll drown.”  
  
Darn. So close. “Hmmmm... Meat eating competition?”  
  
“Not enough meat.”  
  
“Fruit eating competition.”  
  
“Same thing.”  
  
“Fishing competition?”  
  
“No fishing pole.”  
  
Laya scratched her head. Gah! Why was this so hard? Man, being on a boat this small really limited your options for fun. “Hmmmmmmm... Bug Tomoe?”  
  
Luffy moved his straw hat for the first time in their conversation and looked down at his twin. A large grin was on his face.  
  
Taking that as confirmation, Laya grinned back. Slowly, silently, she rose off of him and allowed Luffy to move. He stood up...  
  
“Don't even think about it.”  
  
And promptly sat back down.  
  
The pair pouted as they returned to their previous spots.  
  
“Tomoe's no fun~”  
  
“Yeah, baka-Tomoe.”  
  
The green-haired swordswoman didn't bother responding, as she was asleep once more.

“Hmmmmmmmmmmm... Bear Baiting?”  
  
“No bears.”  
  
“Oh yeah...”

  
{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}  


“Prepare to disembark everyone!” Nami called out.  
  
After a very boring and sleep filled trip from Orange Town, the crew had finally arrived at Luffy's desired destination. What he wanted to do here, they had no clue and he wouldn't say.  
  
Only Nami really found that frustrating.  
  
Thankfully, this was also a place where they could buy a better boat – hopefully – so she wasn't getting too hung up on it.  
  
They moored the commandeered ship of the Buggy Pirates and jumped to shore.  
  
All around them, surrounding the small sand bank, were cliffs, easily thirty feet in height and almost sheer in their formation. From what they could tell, the only normal way onto the island proper was via the sloping hill that cut a path between the two cliff faces.  
  
Before they could take even a single step, however, a voice rang through the shore.  
  
“HALT PIRATES! THIS ISLAND IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE USOPP PIRATES! LEAVE NOW OR SUFFER!”  
  
Nami, Tomoe, and Laya all looked around in confusion, suddenly taking notice of the various pirate flags that had popped up out of the bushes and tree line atop the cliffs. The most prominent appearance, however, was the man standing on the edge of the cliff glaring down at them, one hand pointed at them accusingly and the other holding what looked like a slingshot.  
  
The crew took a single look at the arrival before ignoring him and going back to their own business.  
  
Nami yelped as a metal ball bearing pierced the ground in front of her foot. She growled and looked up. “What the hell was that for?!”  
  
“DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU RUDE BASTARDS!” The teen yelled back. “I, THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP DEMAND RESPECT!”  
  
“Demand a good beating is more like it.” Nami fired back.  
  
“THIS ISLAND IS UNDER MY PROTECTION! LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK, LEST YOU INCUR THE WRATH OF MY EIGHT THOUSAND MEN!”  
  
“Liar.”  
  
“Gah! She saw through me!”  
  
“Wait, you mean he was lying?” Laya's previously star-struck behavior faded after hearing Nami's words. She looked up to the new guy, disappointment clear. “Not cool, man.”  
  
“So you admit it then? How about your three little friends come out to play with us.”  
  
Suddenly the bushes ruffled and the cry of children could be heard as they ran away. Their apologies trailed off into the distance, leaving their “captain” alone.  
  
“Grk! What a cunning witch, making us reveal ourselves like that! W-WELL REGARDLESS! I MAY NOT HAVE EIGHT THOUSAND MEN, BUT I DO HAVE MEN SO STRONG THEY COULD SINK WHOLE GALLEONS BY THEMSELVES!”  
  
“Is that so?” Tomoe asked, a vicious grin on her face. “Sounds like a fun challenge.”  
  
Besides her Laya, Luffy, and even Nami adopted sinister grins as they went along with Tomoe's act.  
  
The teen gulped and paled a little bit. “A-and one I am sure they'll be h-happy to provide! H-however! I, the Great CAPTAIN USOPP will s-stop you before they have the chance!” Despite his obvious nervous shaking and slight stutter the teen took stance against them and drew his slingshot.  
  
“Oh? So you've decided to draw you weapon.” Luffy spoke for the first time since arriving. His grin was gone, replaced with a stone set seriousness. A shadow came over his eyes, courtesy of his hat. His voice was light, his tone daring – challenging. “That means you're willing to put your life on the line, right? That you're willing to die?”  
  
Usopp paled further and his body shook more violently. “D-d-die?!” He yelped.  
  
The Straw Hat captain smirked. “You didn't know? In the world of pirates, there is no such thing as half-measures. If you threaten someone's life, expect to have yours threatened. Anyone that can't handle such things has no right to call themselves a pirate.”  
  
The rest of the crew stepped up besides their captain, their own expressions a mixture of serious and sinister, their postures rigid.  
  
Sweat poured down Usopp's whole body and his body trembled and rocked to the point of losing all support. To the ground he collapsed, his sling-shot forgotten as he stared in awe of the quartet down below.  
  
“So...that's what really pirates are like... awesome.” He breathed shakily.  
  
“HEY! You can come down here, now! You're Yasopp's son, right?”  
  
Usopp flinched and realized that he was still 'engaged' with a group of enemy pirates, he gearing up to run back to town when he registered the words said by the smaller of the hat wearing duo (twins?). He scrambled to the ledge and peered down. “You know my dad!?”  
  
Laya laughed and nodded. “You're Usopp, right? Yasopp talked about you all the time!”  
  
“You aren't gonna s-shoot me, right!?”  
  
“Nope!”  
  
“We'd need an actual gun for that.” Nami groused.  
  
“H-hold on!” He called down, frantically grabbing at his sling-shot. “I'm coming right down!”  
  
As Usopp made his way to the group Laya turned to Luffy and commented on his words to the other boy. “You sounded just like Shanks, Luffy!” She laughed.  
  
Her co-captain just laughed along with her, not willing to comment on the matter.  
  
Soon enough Usopp had joined them as they made their way up the slope. While he very clearly wanted to ask questions of Laya and even the others, a comment about food from Laya – accompanied by further suggestions of booze and meat by Tomoe and Luffy – convinced Usopp to shift the venue to a local restaurant in his home village.  
  
“Man! You guys sure are intense, though. I never encountered actual pirates before; you're way more intimidating than my imagination!”  
  
“Shishishi! Hear that, Nami? We're intimidating!” Laya laughed.  
  
“Great.” The girl responded lamely. “My life's dream has been fulfilled.”  
  
“Really? That's a strange dream, Nami. Good for you though!”  
  
“I didn't mean it literally, you idiot!”  
  
“You didn't?”  
  
“Obviously!”  
  
“So uh, what brings you guys to the island? It isn't like there's much here of interest.”  
  
“Ask him.” Nami said, pointing back at Luffy in irritation.  
  
The two turned to the male captain, walking at the back of the group, with a content smile on his face as he looked just beyond everyone towards the road ahead.  
  
“Is he the captain, then?”  
  
“Co-captain, actually. She's the other one.”  
  
Laya grinned and gave a v-sign to Usopp, who blinked in confusion.  
  
“Co...captains?” The island resident tested the phrase on his lips. “How exactly is that suppose work? Wouldn't there be conflict of authority?”  
  
“Glad to know there's another sane person around here.”  
  
“We've already been over this!” Laya exclaimed with a frown. “If me and Luffy don't agree then we just fight it out. Winner gets to decide.”  
  
“Eh!? You guys really do that? Man, pirates are even more badass than I thought.”  
  
“And I already told you two that something like that simply isn't practical towards leading a crew. Why don't you understand that?”  
  
Tomoe looked over at the navigator. “Because it isn't in their blood to understand. But I suppose it isn't in yours to understand them, either.”  
  
Nami's eyes narrowed. “And what's that suppose to mean?”  
  
“You're suppose to be smart, right? I'm sure you can figure it out.” The swordswoman said with a smirk.  
  
“I already told you Nami, don't worry about it.” Luffy interrupted, speaking for the first time on the walk. Everyone paused and looked back at him. “Nothing will get out of control. I know what I'm doing and Laya has good instincts, despite being new at this.” The girl grinned at the compliment. “And if something does happen? We have you two to snap us out of it.”  
  
“I don't understand why this is even a debate, it's already been established that you're stronger than both Tomoe and Laya. Wouldn't you win every argument anyway?”  
  
Luffy just shrugged, not bothering to comment, before he fell back into stride with Laya, Usopp silently falling in line with them.  
  
Tomoe scoffed. “Shows what you know, girlie.”  
  
Nami blinked and then scowled. And what was with this woman continuously throwing shade at her understanding of the world? Sure she wasn't a muscle-headed brawler, but she knew plenty, damn it!  
  
Soon enough the group got to the diner that Usopp was busy telling a clearly hungry pair of captains about. From what the boy was saying it sounded pretty good. 'Food so good you'll think it was blessed by Kami-sama herself' was a bit much for the more practical pair, though.  
  
After sitting themselves and ordering the five allowed themselves to settle in proper discussions. Mostly it was Laya telling Usopp about his father and what she knew of him from her time spent with the Red Haired Pirates (a detail that threw everyone but Luffy for a loop).  
  
“I thought the name 'Shanks' sounded familiar.” Tomoe said. “He's one of the Yonko, right? The one that fights with Mihawk.” She asked, getting confirmation from Luffy.  
  
“EH!?” Usopp exclaimed. “You mean my dad is on the crew of one of the YONKO!? Holy Shit! That's incredible. I knew he was an amazing man. This proves it!”  
  
Laya laughed and agreed.  
  
“Man, I'm so glad to have met you guys! This is awesome. I never thought I'd hear anything about my dad until I went out to sea to find him myself. But this...” He paused and looked Laya straight in the eyes. His expression tightened and became serious, then he bowed level with the table. “THANK YOU!”  
  
The captain smiled. “Sure thing, Usopp.”

Usopp returned to normal after that and the group continued talking. A passing comment from Tomoe, who had a suspicious gleam in her eyes, had everyone looking at the male captain as his real strength and origin came to the fore.

"EH!?" Came the predictable reaction from the unaware people present. Thus started the brief explanation of Luffy coming from the Grand Line to gather a crew and meet Laya properly.

"That's crazy..." Usopp breathed in awe. "Someone from _that_ sea is actually _here_ , on my island."

Nami, meanwhile, had a very different thought in mind. _"If he's being honest, then someone with that kind of strength..._ _No, no. Snap out of it, Nami! That bastard is from the Grand Line too. It won't make a difference."_

It took a bit for the novelty to wear off for Usopp to let it go and stop asking questions. Of course, that was only replaced by the reason they had come to the island. Once again, Luffy refused to comment and Nami decided to put forth their need for a ship, hoping that the local boy could help them with locating somewhere to buy one.  
  
Usopp blinked and shuffled a bit. “Oh! Uh... yeah, there's um... there's a couple places on the islands. This village doesn't really have anyone that can build them for you though.”  
  
“And that Manor on the hilltop? Do you think they'd have a boat they'd be willing to sell us? Surely someone that lives in a place like that could afford to part with a boat, especially to someone willing to pay for it.” She said, and then added as an afterthought, “I'd rather not go island hopping looking for a boat if I can help it.”  
  
“Agreed.” Tomoe said.  
  
Usopp gave the group a calculating look, glancing back and forth between them and the window – where the manor was clearly visible. “You said you have money to pay?”  
  
Nami scoffed. “Of course we do. Just because we- they're pirates doesn't make them thieves as well. That's my job, and I don't steal from the innocent.”  
  
That got her a dirty look from Tomoe along with a muttered 'sure', but she ignored it.  
  
For the briefest of moments, Usopp looks defeated, before he covers it up. “In that case, the person who lives there does have a boat. As far as I know she's never used it. I... suppose she might be willing to sell it you. Couldn't say how much she'd ask for though.”  
  
“Wonderful!” Nami said happily. “Say, you wouldn't happen to know the owner would you? It would be awesome if we had a way to skip any unpleasantness.”  
  
The island native shifted a bit, looking a tad uncomfortable at the question. His eyes avoided Nami's as they darted side to side. “Ah...well...I suppose you could say that I've, uh, met her a time or two.”  
  
Due to his lack of focus, Usopp entirely missed the predatory smirk on Nami's face. “Great!” She said cheerfully. “That's a time or two more than us, which is better already.”  
  
Usopp looked ready to respond, but got preempted.  
  
“They've been good meetings, yes?” She asked suddenly, her eyes narrowed. “Because I'd hate to have our credibility ruined by a bad referral.”  
  
“Hey! What do you take me for?!” Usopp cried out. “Of course they were good meetings! This CAPTAIN USOPP, you're talking to! Only the best of impressions can come from meeting me!”  
  
“If this is the best impression, I'd hate to see the worst.” Nami muttered, causing Usopp to narrow his eyes at her.  
  
“What was that woman? You dare mock the great Captain Usopp, on his own island!? Such insolence!” He slapped his hands down on the table and rose dramatically to his feet. “I demand respect! Lest you wish to feel my wrath.” He looked down his long nose at her, haughtily crossing his arms as he did so. “Or would you rather I not help you at all-”  
  
BAM! WHAP!  
  
“My apologies. I'll help you.”  
  
The other members of the crew starred blankly at the smoking fist of the irate Nami, then at the large bump on the top of Usopp's head.  
  
“Damn violent woman.” Tomoe muttered under her breath.  
  
Luffy and Laya laughed.  
  
“Thanks for the help, Usopp. We couldn't do it without you.” Luffy said.  
  
Usopp preened just a little under the praise, but wisely kept his mouth shut after seeing the gleam in Nami's eyes.  
  
“Right!” The native exclaimed. “As soon as we're done here, I guess I can take you up to see K- I mean, the manor and you can ask about the boat.  
  
No one commented on the slip up and they continued on with their meal. Only a single interruption came in the form of Usopp's three minions, Carrot, Onion, and Pepper, as they called themselves. Also known as the only other members of the Usopp Pirates.  
  
Cute.  
  
The trio had remarked on how surprised they were to see their beloved captain alive and well only to be promptly scolded by said captain for abandoning him in his time of need. All three boys bowed their heads in shame before, with a renewed vigor, declared they would do better in the future.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}  


Soon enough the meal was over, the younger Usopp Pirates left, and the group made their way up the hill to the immaculate manor.  
  
When they arrived, they were met by a pair of guards at the front gate, and Usopp was conspicuously nowhere to be seen.  
  
“Halt!” One of the guards ordered. “State your purpose here.”  
  
Nami stepped forward before any of the others could talk. “We were told that the owner of this manor was in possession of a boat. We were interested in buying it off of her. Do you think you could let us in? Pretty please?” Nami leaned forward at the end and fluttered her eyelashes, putting herself right in the line of view of the guard that had spoken.  
  
The man seemed unfazed, simply looking at Nami blankly until, after nearly thirty seconds of silence, he spoke again. “I will inform the head butler of your presence. What happens afterwards will be his decision.”  
  
Nami gave a small tsk of disappointment, but smiled it away and thanked the guard as he entered through the gate and out of view.  
  
“Hmm? Hey, where'd Usopp go?” Laya asked.  
  
“Inside already.” Luffy answered with a laugh. “He snuck in through the side of the plant fence.”  
  
“What?!” Nami exclaimed. “That little... he better not blow this for us!”  
  
“Don't worry, Nami. Everything will work itself out.” Luffy nonchalantly reassured her.  
  
The navigator huffed and crossed her arms. “He better. If something goes south because he decided to go rogue he'll regret it.”  
  
No more was said after that and the crew waited for the other guard to return. Eventually he appeared once more at the gate, this time accompanied by another man.  
  
He was tall, standing a couple inches taller than both guards, who were already several inches taller than the entire crew. It was clear by his outfit that he was, in fact, the butler. His expression was one of quite contempt, though if for the crew, or something else wasn't clear. He strode up to them elegantly, not bothering to exit through the gate with the guard. With the palm of his hand he adjusted his glasses, before peering down his nose at the group.  
  
“I was informed by the guard that you wish to purchase a boat from us. Before anything else is said, you are aware that this is not a boat yard, correct? This is the grand homestead of her Lady Kaya-sama, as it was to the Lord and Lady Badeaux before her. Now, I shall ask only once: are you sure you have come to the correct place?”  
  
The entirety of the crew felt their hackles rise at the words of the man. His attitude, oozing as it was with condescension and poorly concealed distaste, set everyone on edge and had each of them feeling the urge to put his face in the ground.  
  
“We're sure.”  
  
The others glanced at Luffy, fighting the urge to stiffen at the frigidity of his own words. The male captain was practically glaring down the butler, daring him to speak down to them again or shoo them away.  
  
For a moment, Luffy and butler stood off with each other, neither willing to back down. Then the taller man sighed dramatically and carelessly waved his hand to the guards.  
  
“Very well, very well. You may enter to discuss a deal for the vessel in question. I am Klahadore, the head butler and personal attendant to her Lady Kaya. I shall be the one dealing with you today, as her Lady is too ill to see guests. But first... you there, girl with the swords. I am going to have to insist you divest yourself of your weapons until such a time that you are no longer on the property.”  
  
Tomoe looked mutinous at the demand and seemed ready to cut the man down; the glint in his eyes, as if expecting her to do so only fueled that urge. Then a hand met her shoulder and she paused. She turned and saw Luffy, still with a deadlock on Klahadore. He shook his head. Tomoe grit her teeth and took a couple of deep breaths, but eventually relented, much to the smug glee of the butler.  
  
With a practiced motion Tomoe separated the swords from her waist and walked over to one of the guards. With a harsh shove they where in his arms and her face was in his own. A dark aura spawned from nothing around the swordswoman and the guard broke out into a sweat.  
  
“Touch them inappropriately and I'll have your hand.”  
  
The man gulped and gave a single nod.  
  
“Good.” Tomoe turned to the others. “Let's go before I change my mind.”  
  
The guards stepped aside and the crew followed Klahadore into the manor proper, getting a brief look at the well-kept gardens before they passed through the entry way into the main hall.  
  
Laya whistled, Nami looked like she was trying to decide if she should be jealous or covetous, and Luffy and Tomoe kept their focuses on the butler.  
  
The interior of the manor very much reflected the presentation on the exterior. Elegant, wealthy, but not garish. The main center-point of the room, a portrait of what was most likely the aforementioned Lord and Lady of the House, rested on the far wall, opposite the main doors.  
  
A maid was in the entrance hall, cleaning one of the ornate vases when they arrived. Her attention lifted and honed in on the strange guests, confusion and surprise was written clearly on her face. A clearing of the throat brought her attention sharply to Klahadore and she snapped to attention under the scrutiny of the man.  
  
“Fetch Merry, and then come back to the dinning room. There is business to discuss that concerns him. These... guests, are here temporarily concerning a potential acquisition. They are not to wander throughout the house. Doing so will result in immediate dismissal from the grounds and rejection of any offers. Is that understood?”  
  
The maid nodded rapidly before scurrying off deeper into the manor.  
  
Klahadore then maneuvered the crew into the dinning room where they were sat and instructed not to leave, before excusing himself.  
  
“Not very subtle is he, the bastard.” Tomoe remarked darkly. “Didn't even try to keep his feelings for us in check. Pathetic if you ask me.”  
  
Nami nodded. “Yeah, he makes me want to punch him in the face, and I deal with pirate scum for a living. You'd think a butler would have better training than that. I just hope his attitude isn't a reflection of his Mistress'. I'd hate to be rejected outright because the lady's a needless bitch.”  
  
“I don't think she's bad Nami.” Laya spoke up, surprising the other girl.  
  
“And how did you come to that conclusion?” She asked skeptically.  
  
Her captain shrugged. “Well, she Usopp's friend, right? I doubt he'd have a friend who was a bitch, or be protective of her like he was.”  
  
Nami thought about the words, remembering Usopp's seeming familiarity with the going-ons of this place and his near slip up with the name of who was likely Lady Kaya. Either he lived here, which she doubted – heavily – or he was a friend to the girl. “I suppose...” She conceded hesitantly.  
  
“No point in worrying over it.” Tomoe said dismissively. “If we do get rejected outright, it isn't like we can just force them to change their minds. We'll take things as they come, end of story.”  
  
“Tomoe's right.” Luffy agreed.  
  
Nami huffed but agreed and the group fell into silence.  


{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}  


“And then, we landed on an Island of Living Toys, that was ruled by fairies and controlled by an evil imp.”  
  
She gasped then chuckled. “Living Toys? That sounds positively wonderful. I think I would love to go there someday. Once the evil Imp is gone, of course.”  
  
“Of course, I'll even take you myself! Now, let's see...Oh, yes! Being the noble adventurers we were, it was decided by unanimous vote that the Usopp Pirates would aid the Land of Living Toys in defeating their tyrant. Day and night we fought with every. Last. Drop. Of our energy and strength. The army of the imp fought valiantly, employing all sorts of mythical beasts to aid it: giants, sea monsters, witches, even the toys that had been peacefully living their before she appeared. Like some kind of monster she took control of the Living Toys and made them fight for her, against the very people trying to save them!”  
  
Her hands came over her mouth in horror. Her eyes were wide and a slight tremble was about her form. “She made them fight you? Those innocent toys? How awful!”  
  
He nodded grimly. “Yes, truly it was horrendous to witness – the stuff of nightmares, really. What I tell you is, in fact, an edited version so as to be safe for those not initiated into the harsh realities of such a life.”  
  
“How noble of you, to think of my fragile heart like that.” She giggled.  
  
He beamed, before trying to cough away his blush. “Anyway! Knowing anything we did would ultimately injure the very people we were trying to save, another way had to be found, one not yet considered. Unfortunately, nothing appeared and the Usopp Pirates were left without a saving grace for seven whole days.”  
  
“Seven whole days?! Incredible! How did you survive?”  
  
“Well you see... the fairies took us to their underground home, the place they had lived prior to becoming the rulers of the Toy Kingdom, during a time they were seen as evil themselves. There we took our refuge, and regrouped. Then on the seventh day, a messenger arrived bearing news. A way to victory had been found.”  
  
She clapped happily, a wide smile on her face. “Oh that's wonderful!”  
  
“But there was a catch. Alongside that message, came another – one that spelled emanate doom for the Usopp Pirates and the rest of the Land of Living Toys if-”  
  
Knock. Knock. Knock.  
  
The pair froze, then jumped into action. He hunched forward and swung his arms around the tree limb before allowing his body to slide around until he was clinging onto the underside. She jump back in her bed, lunging for the covers as she nearly ripped them in an attempt to conceal herself beneath them once more.  
  
“Lady Kaya, I am coming in.”  
  
The door opened and Klahadore entered the room, his countenance was sedated, friendly and he walked with a tightly controlled grace.  
  
“Klahadore.” Kaya greeted pleasantly. “What brings you up here? Lunch is not for another two hours and you already provided me my morning herbs.”  
  
“Can a butler not visit his mistress without rhyme or reason, My Lady?” The man asked with a raised brow causing the girl to blush. He smiled . “If you must know, I am actually here to inform you that a group of people have arrived to the manor with the interest of buying the boat that our very own Merry constructed.”  
  
“Merry's boat?” Kaya asked, blinking in surprise.  
  
The butler nodded, apparently knowing what Kaya was thinking. “I am not sure how they heard of us being in possession of a boat, but the fact remains... Regardless, I disturbed you to inquire whether you would be willing to sell the boat, or if I should send them away.”  
  
“Oh! Well, um... seeing as it is Merry's boat, I do not believe I have any right to dictate the sale of it one way or another. If Merry wishes to sell it, then he should be allowed to do so. If not, then that shall also be his decision.”  
  
Klahadore nodded at the considerate words. “I see. In that case, I shall inform Merry and mediate the sale. I shall inform you of the results when I return with your lunch.”  
  
Kaya acknowledged the course of action and thanked her attendant for his diligence in the matter, even as he continued to take such careful care of herself.  
  
“Do not think anything of it, my Lady.” He said with a casually wave as he walked towards the door. Before he exited, however, he stopped and turned. “My Lady?”  
  
Kaya froze mid motion. Her hands grasping the quilt covering her. “Yes, Klahadore?” She asked in an pitched and airy voice.  
  
A frown worked its way onto the butler's face as he shifted his gaze from the lady of the house to the open window. “I do hope you are ensuring to get the proper amount of rest away from the stresses of the world. It wouldn't do to have outside pollutants worsen your condition when we've worked so hard to make the small bits of progress thus far.”  
  
His frown was matched with one of her own. “I am very conscientious of my health, Klahadore. Thank you for your concern, but I believe a bit of fresh air is exactly what I need at the moment.”  
  
The man nodded stiffly and left, shutting the door behind him with a solid thud.  
  
Kaya sighed in relief as her body relaxed. “Whatever am I to do with you Klahadore?” She murmured. “Usopp-kun, you can come back now!”  
  
There was scrambling from outside the window, before the other teen reappeared in her vision. Relief was apparent on his face and a bead of sweat was dripping down his brow. “Whew!” He exclaimed with a huff. “You'd think I'd be more used to doing that by now.”  
  
“I'm sorry for him, Usopp-kun.” Kaya said with a sad smile. “He's a good person, if only he could get over his irrational hatred of you and see you're not like he thinks.”  
  
Usopp sniffed imperiously. “As if I want the approval of someone like that. Rude bastard.”  
  
“It's an attitude like that which keeps anything from changing, Usopp-kun.” Kaya chided gently. “Relationships are a two way street.”  
  
“Great advice...for him. I'll start being nice when he stops being an ass.”  
  
Kaya sighed, already knowing Usopp would say as much. It wasn't the first time they had held such a conversation. Likely wouldn't be the last, either. The girl just couldn't understand it. Why were they so opposed to each other?  
  
“I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that, Usopp-kun. Someone has to give the first concession.”  
  
“And it won't be me.”  
  
“Then we won't be able to interact openly like we want to.”  
  
Usopp recoiled with a grimace. Low blow. She knew how much he hated having to sneak around with her, how much he yearned to be able to walk through the front doors as he used to, proud of being her friend.  
  
All of that had disappeared the day that her parents died. Klahadore had taken over and banned him from seeing her, citing poor health and his childishness as sufficient reasons to send him away from his grieving best friend.  
  
Obviously it hadn't stopped him, but Usopp had been forced to play secret friend for the better part of three years on account of it. All because Kaya couldn't muster the courage to tell her butler off and force his hand like the Lady of the House she was supposed to be.  
  
It was a resentment that he had noticed festering a while ago and it only seemed to be growing the longer the situation persisted. Kaya was putting them all in this situation because she feared pushing another person out of her life, ignorant of the consequences doing so had.  
  
He opened his mouth, a rebuttal on his lips, then closed them again. They had been here before, and it had ended the same every time.  
  
She always refused, too weak willed to truly stand up to the man that had taken complete control her life.  
  
“Right, well, I'm uh...I'm gonna go. Stuff to do, ya know?” He turned and started to make his way down the tree when a call from Kaya stopped him short. Usopp shifted his body just enough that he could see the girl once more, a hopeful glint in his eyes.  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“The offer for Merry's ship...did you?”  
  
His face fell, his body slumped. “Ah, yeah. I met them earlier today. They're nice. Told me about my dad. I told them about the ship.”  
  
“Oh...okay. Thank you for informing me.”  
  
“Yeah. No problem.”  
  
With that he left, not bothering to turn back for his normal farewell.  
  
In her room, Kaya sat stock still, her eyes glued to the branch of the tree that Usopp always sat upon. “Oh Usopp-kun. What do I do?”

  
{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}  


The maid entered with Merry only moments before Klahadore returned. The two butlers both took a seat across from the crew and discussions were started. The contrast between them was immediately apparent.  
  
Merry, despite seeming a bit off-balance, was all smiles and had a disarming air about him. Perhaps it was the fact that he looked like a sheep? Either way, his own countenance was much more welcome than his counterpart.  
  
“So!” Merry started. “I've been informed that you've learned of my boat and wish to purchase it from me. I must say, I am very surprised. I didn't start that project with the intention of ever selling it, but... regardless, things have changed enough that I am open to offers, all factors considered.”  
  
Nami, ever the spokesperson for the crew, smiled at the man. “We appreciate this, Mr...”  
  
“Merry.”  
  
“Mr. Merry. With so many of us, the ship we're currently using just isn't sufficient to traverse the waters of East Blue for any significant amount of time.”  
  
“That is an understandable situation.” Merry sympathized.  
  
“I am glad you think so. It is one that we are hoping to rectify as quickly possible, you understand. There's no telling what kind of dangers out lurking out there, even in the calm waters of the East.” She had said it with a lilt of levity, hoping to appeal to any morbid humor the man possessed while remaining reasonable in her speech. What she had expected was the butler's face to fall and his hands to clench.  
  
“You are very correct, miss.” He said solemnly.  
  
Nami leaned forward, her features dropping. “You sound like you speak from experience, Mr. Merry.”  
  
The butler flinched, but nodded. He looked to be a hair's breath from shedding a tear. “Yes... this whole manor, in fact, understands that point quite well.”  
  
Realization dawned and Nami reached across the table to grab hold of Merry hand. The butler's eyes widened, surprised, but he didn't dissuade her.  
  
“It was hard, wasn't it?”  
  
Merry nodded, a lump in his throat.  
  
“Made even harder by being preventable, right?”  
  
The butler reeled, but stopped at seeing Nami's sad smile. There was a glint in her eyes, one that spoke of understanding beyond second-hand knowledge.  
  
“...yes, that is...correct.” He whispered. Merry could almost feel the tears now. “It was my fault. My words and actions that result-... resulted in them dying!”  
  
Ah. The previous lord and lady then.  
  
“I understand. I do. When I was a child, my father...he died, all because I couldn't listen to basic instructions.” Nami let her head dip off to the side, smiling balefully at nothing. “We were in the middle of a pirate siege and everyone was scrambling in a bid to survive. But me? I froze.” A harsh laugh escaped her lips as her eyes drifted back to meet Merry's own captivated ones. “I was only five at the time, you know. Most wouldn't blame a child for acting as children do in such situations. I am not most people.”  
  
A tense silence followed her speech and she sighed. “Sorry for putting that on you. I usually don't share such things, I don't know why-”  
  
“Oh! No, Miss... ah, actually, I don't believe I've received any of your names yet. How embarrassing!” The butler laughed sheepishly as Nami waved him off with a smile.  
  
“My fault entirely. I assure you.” She said. “My name is Nami. As for the others, in order from left to right are: Luffy, Laya, and Tomoe. We're adventurers that have all set out with the common goal of finding new and exciting things that don't live or exist on our home islands.”  
  
Merry eyes lit up. “Ooh! How fascinating. Exploration is something I always dreamed of. Never had the ambition to do so alone, however. Yes, I can see how that would be a mission worthy of a reliable boat.”  
  
“Our thoughts exactly.” Nami said with a gracious smile.  
  
“Pardon the interruption.” Came the drawling voice of Klahadore. “However, as explorers, are you sure you possess enough money to buy Merry's boat? It is of high class and quality.”  
  
Nami let the insult roll right off her shoulders and shrugged with an easy smile. “Oh that? These three are bounty hunters on the side. We have about a million beli left over from our last job. That enough for you?”  
  
Klahadore stiffened at the explanation, to the notice of all but Laya, who was long asleep on her brother's shoulder.  
  
“Oh my! Bounty hunting?!” Merry exclaimed. “That is quite the method of making money. Especially for such a young looking group. Though... on further inspection you do appear quite tough...”  
  
“The toughest.” Nami emphasized with a grin and chuckle.  
  
Merry chuckled along. “Well, I personally have never had a problem with bounty hunting, so long as the ones doing so respect the laws of the land.” At this, the butler sent a strong look towards Klahadore, apparently having noticed the man's earlier reaction as well. “They help where marines sometimes won't or can't, so for that, I thank you.”  
  
“Don't mention it. Like I said, it's just a hobby to make enough money to get by.”  
  
“Even so, even so...” Merry said. “Anyway, I am inclined to consider your offer, Miss Nami. You seem like a decent group with honest intentions and I know how rare that's becoming these days. I would be remiss to decline the opportunity to support such pure and noble endeavors as yours, especially through the use of a ship that may never see proper use otherwise.”  
  
Nami grinned broadly. “Wonderful, Merry. Tell me, how much are you wanting for your ship?”  
  
The butler thought it over and it wasn't long before he smiled and said. “Well, it cost me just about two million beli to build, so... how about two million? Does that sound fair?”  
  
Nami practically lit up at the offer and her hands clutched Merry's own once more. “I knew you were a gracious and wonderful person, Mr. Merry! I couldn't hope for a better offer, truly.”  
  
The sheep-like butler blushed at the praise. “I do what I can, Miss Nami. We all have a responsibility to encourage and nurture freedom, I am just doing my part.”  
  
“Well it is most appreciated, I assure you.”  
  
Tomoe and Luffy nodded, smiling their thanks to the butler. Laya snored into her brother's shoulder.  
  
“If the negotiations are done...” Klahadore said.  
  
“Right, of course.” Merry responded, glancing at the head butler. “I suppose we are done, aren't we.” He looked back at Nami and the group. “If you all will come back later this evening, say around six, with that two million, I can have the boat ready to go by then. Just meet me out in front of the main gates.”  
  
“Sounds perfect. Thank you again, Mr. Merry!”  
  
“Of course, Miss Nami. My pleasure.”  
  
“If you all would?”  
  
After waking Laya, the group followed after Klahadore, filling the second captain in on the results of the meeting as they went. Laya cheered, to the visible displeasure of Klahadore, and soon they were outside the property boundary.  
  
The head butler left, with a warning to not return until the appointed time, and Tomoe took her swords back, seeming to take great joy in terrifying the guard as thoroughly as possible.  
  
“No scratches... congratulations, you get to live.”  
  
Luffy snickered alongside Laya while Nami just rolled her eyes and started her trek back to the ship. Tomoe followed shortly after, but a comment from Laya kept the siblings from doing so as well.  
  
“I wonder if Usopp is done with his business yet.”  
  
“Usopp? He left a while back.” Luffy told his sister. He pointed down towards the village, in the direction of the shore they had docked at. “He went down that direction. Probably still there.”  
  
Laya looked at him with wide eyes. “Whoa, how'd you know that?!... Are you psychic?”  
  
Luffy laughed at the girl's narrowed expression. She'd probably love it he were psychic, since he definitely would think that was awesome... wait, was observation haki being psychic?  
  
Thankfully, before he could send himself down that rabbit hole of logic, Laya had apparently gotten tired of waiting for a response and was running towards Usopp's current location... and pulling him along for the ride.  
  
“Huh,” Luffy thought. “So this is what it feels like... I don't get why the others hate it.”  
  
The fairy-girl tore through the town, eager to chat more with their new friend while they still had time on the island. They quickly passed Nami and Tomoe, who just starred at them with dumbfounded looks.  
  
“GONNA GO FIND USOPP! SEE YOU LATER, BYE!” Laya called.  
  
“Ummm...” Nami voiced.  
  
Tomoe shook her head. “Don't try.”  
  
“Right, good call.”  
  
The pair continued on, content to forget what they'd just seen and walk in silence back to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done with another one! Yay! Not quite at the 10k mark, but I figured this would be a good spot to end before the action started up and kicked things into high gear. Crap's going down next chapter.


	4. That One With...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The last portion of this chapter - a flashback scene with Kaya - was cut and put at the beginning of next chapter because I felt that the dramatic conclusion fit better.
> 
> That's all I really wanted to say. Sorry for the wait on this, and for anything that feels rushed or confusing. Please let me know if there are inconsistencies that need addressing. Or if you just have thoughts you want to share. I love reading your comments.
> 
> On to the show!

Chapter 4.

That One With Pirate Butlers and Evil Michael Jackson

"And where do you think you're going?" Nami accused, looking crossly at Tomoe. The duo were on their way back to the ship when the swordswoman suddenly decided to go off on her own, turning off the path and meandering towards the tree line.

Tomoe flipped her hand lazily, not rising the bait as she walked on. "Gonna find something interesting to do until six. I'll be back by then, so don't worry."

"As if I'd worry about you!"

"Yeah yeah..."

Nami huffed as she glared at the retreating form of the green-haired woman. " _I swear._ "

Doing her best to put her least favorite crew member out of her mind, the navigator continued on her way. As she walked she couldn't help but notice the looks some people were giving her. It made some sense, she supposed. They were foreigners in a small village and she was coming from the direction of the wealthiest home on the island – that wasn't even counting how fast gossip spread in places like this.

Good thing she was used to it.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

" _Who is that freak?_ " A villager asked, peaking around the doorway banister.

A woman shrugged. " _Don't know, don't care. They ain't welcome._ "

"Disgusting!" A another man declared.

" _Shh! Not so loud!_ " The first man hissed.

"Tch. Like I care if that...thing hears me. See what happens, hah!"

A third man looked over from his rocking seat. "Don't you know what happens to villages that badmouth foreigners? You never know when they might be _pirates_. And trust me, when they're _that_ weird, they ain't anything but. _"_

The other man just crossed his arms defiantly. "Like I _said._ See what happens."

" _He could always be a circus performer._ " The first man offered.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Right, because _that makes sense."_

"Oh don't start with _me,_ Mrs. 'Usopp is lying again'."

"That's rich coming from you."

" _Why you..._ "

The fourth man sighed heavily and flicked his pipe ashes in the faces of the other man and woman, jolting them. "Bonnie, Kenny, take it inside or shut yer yaps. _Unless you_ want _to grab the attention of our newest sideshow_. I'm sure Beth will be thrilled to know that her parents we're done in because they're more childish than there own daughter."

The couple recoiled at the words and slumped. "Sorry Joseph." They chorused.

Joseph nodded in acceptance and went back to rocking.

"Hey guys, isn't that one of them other new people?" The second man asked. "Don't know 'bout you, but I like this one _much_ better."

"Quit your perving Oslo; I don't care how cute they are. It's weird.. and gross." Bonnie scolded.

Oslo laughed. "You only say that 'cause I don't do it to you anymore, Bonnie-boo." He pursed his lips in kissy motions and Bonnie sneered.

Kenny looked ready to attack before Joseph cut them all off. "Enough. Oslo, quit it. You two, ignore him."

The three tsked, but did as asked as they resumed their guest-watching. The strange man with heart-shaped glasses and a staff chin was nearly out of sight by now and heading towards the west cliffs, so they all honed in on the cute orange-haired girl.

"What do you think she's here for?" Kenny asked.

She was mostly out of range for hearing, and didn't look all that threatening or weird, so there wasn't a need to whisper. Of course, they didn't plan on calling her a freak either so...

Bonnie shrugged. "Place like this? Hard to say. Came from the Badeaux place, so maybe they know them?"

"Possible, but not likely." Joseph said. "Never seen them before remember? Unless their friends from another island that's just visiting. Nah, I say business."

"Must be an odd sort of business. You see that one with the swords? And the one with the hat? Damn scary those two." Kenny interjected.

Oslo laughed. "Everyone's scary to you Ken-boy. You get a look at that tiny one? Reminds me of a fuckin' pixy or fairy from them kids stories. Like some kind of dream-girl, that one."

"One word." Bonnie said flatly. " _Creep_."

Oslo flicked his middle finger. "Bite me."

A full set of pearly whites came millimeters away from removing the offending digit before Oslo yanked his hand away, chuckling madly.

Joseph rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you lot. Oslo, I suggest you be careful with that group. If I'm right, then they aren't people you should be messing with on a whim."

"Oh~?" The man drawled apathetically. "And what kind of people would that be?"

The rocking never stopped as Joseph looked him dead in the eye. A billow of smoke escaped his lips and flew towards his fellow villager, scattering against his face and forcing him to close his eyes.

"Bounty Hunters."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Usopp looked out into the vast blue of the East, the gentle rolling of waves pushed along by the ever harmless East Blue weather acting to pull the teen into a trance-like state. His mind, distracted as it was in its mulling, easily fell into a state of unawareness.

For a while he simply sat there, eyes blank and shoulder's slumped, his legs dangling precariously over the edge of the cliff.

This was where he always went after conversations like he just held. The calmness and distance from everything else on the island, from _that_ part of the island, served to distract his mind and bring it back to its normal state of peace.

He just...didn't understand it. How could she be so obstinate? Couldn't she see the way that stupid butler acted around anyone that wasn't Kaya herself? Certainly, she knew of how he behaved towards Usopp himself. She had even known all of those same people for _years_ longer than Klahadore, Usopp included!

So _why_? What could she see in such a prejudice bastard that she would defend him?

No matter how many times he came here and those thoughts ran though his mind, no answer ever came.

Still he continued to ask. For himself, and for Kaya.

After all, not even the girl herself seemed to know the answer, if her silence was anything to go by.

So instead he came here, where the serenity of it all allowed his mind to step back and his heart to mend just a little bit.

A part of him wondered though... how long would he be able to keep coming here, before it ceased to be so peaceful?

"AH! There he is, Luffy! HEY USOPP!"

"GAAAAHHH!"

Lost as he was in his mind, Usopp had no way to react to the sudden and shocking presence that was small rubber fairies appearing next to his face.

All at once his vision returned with startlingly clarity to see the grinning face of Monkey D. Laya smiling at him with all the muster in the world, her pearly whites reflecting the suns rays with an almost painful luster.

Unfortunately, prone to knee-jerk reactions as Usopp was, he did not respond in the positive to the captain's actions. His whole body jolted, leaping away from the surprise human with as much force as it could muster in its position. This had the undesirable consequence of his legs thrusting off the face of cliff, thereby hurtling Usopp's fear stricken body towards the rocky crag below and towards his ultimate demise.

"AAAHHHHAHAHAHAHA- eh?"

Or at least it would have, if a pairs of arms hadn't stretched out and clutched onto his limbs.

On the outcropping, Laya and Luffy were laughing and grinning as they suspended Usopp in the air.

"Hey Laya..."

"Hmm?"

A wicked gleam appeared in her brother's eyes. "Usopp kite."

Her own eyes took on the same gleam and the two looked back to Usopp. Up in the air, the native felt a cold chill run down his spine and a prominent feeling of doom and despair settle in his gut.

"Uh, guys? You can, uh, you can set me down now, ya know!"

The twin captains ignored him, increasing his worry. "Uh, guys! Hello! Luffy! Laya! Say something, please! Hey... I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME YOU BASTARDS! SAY SOMETHING!"

Finally, Laya decided to take pity on Usopp. The gleam in her eyes had somehow gotten even more intense and a shit eating grin stretched her lips as she uttered the damning phrase a second time.

"Usopp...kite."

In an instant all of the color drained from Usopp's body and his limbs began to thrash in an attempt to get free. It didn't matter that he was still suspended above a forty foot drop that would most assuredly end with him getting to see his mother again. He was not a kite, damn it!

"Hey Hey Hey! The hell are you saying down there! Don't tell you plan on using me as a- woaaaAAHHH! HEY HEY! WHAT THE HELL! PUT ME DOOOOWWWNN!"

"Shishishishi!"/"Shishishishi!"

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

The grass and leaves crunched softly under heel, nearly masked by the rustle of leaves as the ocean's breeze swept through the forest. The sun, still high in the post noon hours, sent beams of shimmering light through the canopy. Every so often, a squirrel would dance around a tree, moving as if without reason or thought.

Under a particularly large tree, a green-haired woman rested. Her long, spiky hair was swept to the side and over a shoulder, her legs folded underneath each other. Across her breasts, three swords rested, guarded protectively by her arms.

As she slept, in the tree above her a squirrel jumped about from limb to limb. Around the trunk it ran, up and down and every which way before it came upon the sleeping swordswoman. The barely paused as it skittered across the slumbering pirate. Its small paws pattered lightly across her skin and clothes, sharp claws barely registering.

The squirrel swung around Tomoe's swords before jumping into her lap. Then, with a great leap it was in her hair, climbing up and through it until the fluffy rodent had reached her crown. Like a dog the squirrel ran circles around Tomoe's head before suddenly stopping.

Then, with a limp plop, the small woodland creature dropped down, covered itself with its tail, and went to sleep.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"One... two... three... four..." the decorative paper bills flew through Nami's hands at a speed almost incomprehensible the average person. With each count equaling a hundred hundred-note bills, the pile was quickly stacking up.

Despite her concentration on the impossible feat, an easy grin was pulling at her lips.

Honestly, Nami was quite thankful for the relatively low cost that Merry had agree upon. She had left it open to his choice to continue the friendly narrative and hopefully pray on the man's good nature. If for some reason that hadn't worked, well...

Regardless, she was glad they hadn't had to utilize all, or even most of their liquid funds. Gold and gem appraisers didn't exist on every island and many of the ones that did rarely had enough to compensate the full haul stolen from pirates. Gecko Islands, if she recalled correctly, did have a single appraiser, but she was small time that never gave out more than a couple hundred or so at a time.

Nami understood, business and all that – didn't mean it wasn't annoying. They'd probably have to visit at least a half dozen of the high end appraisers she knew of just to get the rest of Buggy's haul into something usable.

She'd have to talk to Luffy about it some time before they left, that way they could make a trip over to the shop here in the islands.

"AAAAHHHHAAAHHAAAAAAA! PUT ME DOWN DAMN IT! NOT THE FOREST! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!"

Nami blinked and paused her counting. She set the money on the table and poked her head out of the cabin.

.

.

.

"Nope." The navigator slammed to cabin door closed and sat back down, her hands resuming their practiced motions as her mind smothered the image she had just witness with the sound of fluttering money.

"Nine... Ten... One... Two... Three..."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

 **Whoosh!** **Whoosh!**

Sweat poured down Usopp's brow as trees whizzed by like blurs. Trunks and branches seemingly appeared from every direction, headed directly for his prone body, only to then have himself pulled out of the way at the last second to safety.

" _I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I am_ so _going to die."_ He cried internally. _"Damn it! I'm too young to die!"_

This whole thing had started out with shock and terror. When Luffy and Laya had hoisted him up into the air using their arms and spoken the words "Usopp Kite", he dreaded what would come next.

Except he didn't. The initial fear had faded very quickly when he realized that neither captain was weak or cruel enough to simply drop him. That left him, someone who had never been off the ground for more than a couple seconds at a time, to experience perhaps the rarest of wonders: flight.

Like the proud warrior he was, Usopp had gleefully declared that he was now the king of the skies while the captains laughed underneath him.

Around the cliffs and through the west side of the island they had taken him, all while he marveled at the majesty of being among the birds. The breeze, the view, the freedom, it was all incredible!

And then... the twins had decided to change course.

He had begged, pleaded even, but Usopp was quickly coming to realize that such things had next to no impact on the decision making of either rubber human.

Thus, he was here, being dragged through the forest with a scary amount of precision and speed, just waiting for the inevitable.

Face, meet tree. One hit is all it would take, then he be gone to meet his mother...

" _Say good things at my funeral guys, I've taught you well enough for that... this is the end."_ Crocodile tears were pouring from his eyes and he shut them tight, no longer able to stand the sight of constant near-death misses.

Suddenly the whooshing stopped and the feeling of zipping through the air was no more.

" _Ah, it seems I was right."_ He thought, mind suddenly peaceful. _"Farewell, cruel world. I had a blast while it lasted. Take me away, I'm ready."_

"Usopp?"

"Mother, is that you?" He called.

"Shishishi! Try again."

Usopp's eyes blinked open. The sight before him left him dumbfounded. Luffy and Laya, standing their, arms retracted and normal. That meant...

"OHOHOHOOO! SWEET EARTH! HOW I'VE MISSED YOU!"

"Shishishi!" / "Shishishi!"

"And _you_ bastards!" Usopp suddenly shouted, rounded on the grinning captains. "What the hell!? I thought I was gonna die! I ALMOST DIED!"

"Yeah, but you didn't, so its okay." Laya said flippantly.

"TAKE RESPONSBILITY!" The teen raged.

"So you didn't have fun, Usopp?" the girl asked, her eyes wide. The effect was immediate. Usopp felt the sweat drip down his forehead and the lump shift in his throat.

"Ah...w-well, I...um. No! I totally had fun."

Laya grinned wide and cheered. "Great!"

Usopp gasped his relief.

"We'll have to do it again, sometime!"

"Gahk!"

"Shishishishi!"

"Just, no trees next time, please." He said weakly. "Anything but trees."

"Sure thing, Usopp!" The twins agreed with shrugs.

Usopp looked around, noticing they were in some kind of field, one he didn't immediately recognize. "So, where are we?"

Laya looked around and scratched her head. "Hmm. No clue. Luffy?"

"Nope!" The captain declared proudly, his face serious. "We are completely lost!"

"That's not something to be proud of!" Usopp yelled. He huffed a sigh and crossed his arms. "Honestly, you guys are something else."

"Meh." Luffy shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find our way back eventually if we start walking. Let's go!"

The others followed quickly followed after the adventuring captain, one happily humming a tune and the other trying to decide whether he should be amused or exasperated.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

In another part of the forest, not to far away from the rubbery duo and their new friend, a green-haired woman was settling back into sleep after being abruptly woken up by the screaming and laughing of three idiots flying a human kite.

" _Not worth it."_ She thought herself.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Ooh!... Ah!...Uh-huh!...That's right!"

At the outskirts of town, on a path that led next to and away from the Baduex manor, a man in a fedora, with heart-shaped glass, and an Egyptian styled chin cover was moonwalking as he sung to himself. Every few seconds one of his arms or legs would seemingly spasm and he'd make an odd noise to accompany it – all the while, a self-satisfied smirk clung to his face.

For the entire stretch of road this went on, past gaping and baffled natives, until all that was left was himself, the road, and an uncaring nature.

Eventually, he found himself standing on the rocky shore of the east side of the island, right underneath a cliff face, much like the one that existed on the other side of the island.

"Here's to be the meetin' place, eh? I wonder where the cap be at? It ain't cool to keep a cat waitin' ya know."

Still no one was around. The man shrugged and continued his odd movements, all the while strange sounds escaped his mouth.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Luffy, Laya, and Usopp were still trudging through the forest.

The native had mentioned on more than one occasion that they were going the wrong direction to get back to town. Once he had noticed the sun in the sky and remembered what time of day it should be about it hadn't been hard to navigate his own home island.

For some reason foreign to Usopp, Luffy and Laya chose to ignore him. Well, rather they acknowledged that he was speaking words, they just didn't care what those words were.

"Adventure!" Luffy had boldly declared.

"Adventure!" Laya had cheered in agreement.

" _I still don't understand what they expect to find on an island like this._ " Usopp muttered to himself. Still, no matter how boring his home might be, or how few things there were to actually do on it, he would admit that 'exploring' with the twin captains was... well, an experience.

Speaking of which, Luffy had just started humming a new melody, one that Laya quickly caught on to as they switched lines.

"~The islands in the south~ are warm~"

"~Paiya-purupuru~ Their heads get really hot~"

"~And they're all idiots~!"

Usopp hooted with laughter as the duo sang the third line together.

"Second verse!" Luffy declared.

"~The islands in the north~ are cold~"

"~Hyakkoi-koikoi~ Their heads shiver all around~"

"~And they're all idiots~!"

"Third verse!"

"~The islands in the east- hmm?"

Laya abruptly cut off, confusing Usopp. He blinked and realized that they had somehow ended up on the far east side of the island, where the other cliffs were. The twins had walked all the way to the edge and were peering down at something.

He quickly joined them, wondering what could bring a stop to their persistent singing. Popping his head over the ledge, he caught sight of a strangely dressed man with heart shades dancing all to himself. Occasionally, he'd let out a strange sound to accompany a break in the movement before going right back to...whatever it was he was doing.

"Uh..." Usopp voiced.

"Who's the weirdo?" Laya asked.

"Pirate."

Laya and Usopp snapped around to look at Luffy. His face was rather serious and his gaze unwavering on the man below them.

"P-p- _pirate_!?" Usopp whisper shrieked. "You mean like... the _real_ kind. The dangerous kind? Or do you mean the nice kind, like you two? _Please tell its the second one_."

"A mean pirate and one that doesn't work alone."

"There are _more_!?"

Laya blinked, looking between Luffy and the strange man, as if trying to unravel a mystery. "How can ya' tell?"

"I've seen him before. Him and his crew."

"Ah."

"So, uh, what do we do?" Usopp asked anxiously. "Personally, I vote that we run and get help."

"No need." Luffy said.

"Eh!?"

"He's weak, even for the east. His crew, too."

Usopp gave a hesitant smile, of course _Luffy_ would think someone was weak...wait. He facepalmed. _Luffy_ was here. What was he worried about again? The guy had been to the grand line and survived! Some two-bit east blue pirate couldn't stand up to that... although, Luffy had said he had seen the guy before, and he was looking awfully serious...

"Say uh, Luffy. This guy... you said he's weak, then why are you acting so serious?"

"'Cause they're the kind of pirates I can't stand. They're both scum – him and his boss."

"His boss?"

Luffy didn't respond verbally. Instead, he directed a finger down the path a little ways from the dancing man.

The others' gazes followed and they spotted a second figure dressed in all black walking steadily towards the first man.

Usopp gasped, then growled. "That bastard! So Klahdaore has been a pirate this whole time?! I _knew_ he was dirty." He forcefully reigned himself in, lest he give away their position – all three had taken to crouching or laying down, with only their heads peeking over. "Still, I wouldn't have guessed him to be a pirate, especially since he hates on me and my dad so much. Hypocritical much?"

"That's the butler dude, right?" Laya asked.

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh."

"How'd no one know he was a pirate?"

Usopp huffed. " _'Cause people are blind to the faults of others._ "

The twins looked at him strangely and he coughed uncomfortably. "Right, um, I don't really know. The guy showed up three years ago. He was in bad shape and Kaya's parents took him in. Soon enough Kaya's parents loved him and he was made head butler. Me? Not so much. Bastard never liked me after learning my dad was a pirate, even less so when I declared how much I respected my old man. After Kaya's parents died out at sea, Klahadore become the main authority in the house and my opinion didn't matter any more."

"Eh... he's been hiding out this long huh?" Laya said, surprised. "Wonder what he wants."

Usopp sneered. "Piece of shit probably wants Kaya's money. She's rich, you know, like crazy rich." He huffed a dry laugh. "I've been called a gold digger more than once by jealous suitors because I'm her only male friend."

Down below, the two men had just started talking, with Jango proclaiming the entrance of his captain, much to said man's consternation.

"Actually," Usopp said, his eyes narrowing. "I bet that's been this guys plan the whole time. Kaya's parents died out at sea to a pirate raid. Their ship got damaged beyond repair and they were left for dead. I bet this guy's crew were the jerks that did it."

Laya narrowed her eyes at the story, agreeing with the sentiment as they trio turned their focus to the duo down below.

The conversation had progressed and they were discussing some sort of plan. The key words: girl, money, will, raid, and kill were picked up, validating everyone's thoughts.

These were pirates, and they were planning some against Kaya.

Quickly enough he men's talk ended with Klahadore ordering Jango to have the men ready by nightfall, and promptly leaving. Soon after, Jango departed, moonwalking away to his own rhythm.

On the cliff, the group stood and dusted themselves off.

"Luffy." Laya said.

"Mmm."

"Now?"

"Wait!" Surprisingly, it was Usopp that held the Rubber girl back. Even Luffy looked like he didn't care about the continued existence of either man. The native reveled in the hatred that the pair felt on his and Kaya's behalf, but pushed it aside in favor of reason.

"Please, don't do anything yet." He pleaded.

"Why not?" Laya frowned. "I could kick both their asses now, and then we can go kick their crew's asses second, and then the problem is solved."

Usopp gritted his teeth. Didn't she think he knew that?! "As much as I want to beat them black and blue, we can't. If I just beat up Klahadore without proving to Kaya that he's really a bad guy..."

"She won't forgive you." Luffy finished seriously.

Usopp looked up shocked, then nodded, his features becoming downcast. "Yeah. She already knows how much I hate the guy, if we just go beating him up without 'proof' and then get rid of the proof by beating his crew up, then all he has to do is plead innocence and ignorance. Guaranteed she'll believe him over me."

"Hmm. I guess I see your point." Laya admitted. "So... what do we do? I don't want to make things harder between you and your friend."

"Agreed."

Usopp looked at the duo, his eyes wide. He...honestly hadn't been expecting that to work, especially considering how irrational they could be. "You guys..."

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get the others and kick some pirate ass."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Hey, Tomoe! Wake up! We're gonna go kick some ass!"

The green-haired woman propped open an eye and peered in the direction of the sound. That was Luffy's voice.

Tomoe grinned. Meh, she could sleep at any time. Kicking ass and taking names? Well, she could do that anytime too. It was more fun though. Tomoe quickly got to her feet and set her swords back to their positions before taking off in the direction opposite to where Luffy was running.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Hey! Nami! Come out!"

The navigator rolled her eyes, easily recognizing Luffy's voice for what it was. She ignored him and went back to checking over her sketches.

"Yeah! Wer're gonna kick some ass!"

Aaand... there was Laya.

"Yeah Nami! We gotta save Kaya!"

Usopp? Seriously, what were those morons up to? With a huff she set down her compass and stood, careful not to smack the short ceiling.

With a harsh tug Nami opened the cabin door and glared out at the three noise makers. "What!?"

"Come on, Nami!" Laya urged. "We're gonna go beat up that Klahboren guy."

She furrowed her brows, trying to figure out who... "You mean Klahadore? As in, the _butler_ Klahadore? The hell do you want to do that for!? Are you three _nuts_? They're selling us a ship and you want to beat up the head butler? That has got to be the most harebrained idea I've ever heard! And believe me there have been some _contenders_."

"But _Nami~_ it isn't like that." Laya whined back. "He's a bad guy!"

"Yeah!" Usopp chimed in with support. "He's a pirate that's after Kaya's fortune. Just ask Luffy!"

Nami turned her skeptical eyes towards Luffy. The captain didn't disappoint. With serious eyes and a slight frown he nodded. "His name's Kuro. At least I think it is. I'm not great with names, but I remember his face clear as day. He's in charge of a crew with a bunch of freaky guys on it."

"And why didn't you say anything when you say him at the mansion, or even after? Why now? What changed?"

"We needed a boat." The man replied simply.

Okay, that was fair, she conceded. If he had done anything to jeopardize their ability to get a decent boat – like say, accusing a man of being a pirate without proof – she would have mutinied and strangled him on the spot. Damn his rubber fruit powers.

"Besides~!" Usopp stressed. "We just heard him talking to one of his subordinates. They're targeting Kaya!"

Nami's eyes widened in alarm. She could see where this was going, and she didn't like it. This would ruin their ability to get a boat! "You heard them say that? Are you sure?!"

"Ah..." Usopp coughed out, faltering slightly. "Not _exactly_ but, I mean... who else in town do you know that could have a will that gives you bunches of money and requires attacking a whole town to cover up? Besides, Nami, he's Kaya's butler. If there was anyone that he'd be going after, its the girl that he's been 'taking care of' this whole time!"

She pursed her lips, conceding the native's point. "Okay, say I believe you. What next? We can't exactly outright attack someone without proof, otherwise Luffy would have done it the moment he recognized the guy."

At this Luffy nodded to confirm that, yes, he would have done just that.

"We're were actually kinda hoping _you_ could help with that."

Nami deadpanned at the long-nosed teen who stiffened.

"Yeah Nami!" Laya agreed. "We all suck at making plans, so we wanted you're help; cause you know, you're smart and all."

"Oi! I can make plans just fine thank you!" Usopp raged. "And are you implying that I'm stupid?!"

"I see someone is capable of acknowledging the truth."

"DON'T AGREE DAMNIT!"

"Regardless." Nami continued, unperturbed. "If what you're saying is true-"

"It is." Luffy interrupted.

She regarded the seriousness of her captain once more. With a nod she continued, "then we'll have to make sure we're coming at this from the right angel. So, first question: where are they going to be attacking from?"

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Onion, Carrot, and Pepper had never been more thankful for their adventures with the captain then this very moment. They were running as fast as their legs would carry them across the several mile expanse if the island that separate Syrup Village from two other main towns on Front Left Leg Island. The three friends had all made the trip once before, when they were younger; it had taken several hours just one way.

They didn't have that kind of time now.

" _You three!" Usopp cried. "Listen to me closely! I need you to run to Pearl Town and Plate Town as fast as you can and check every single bar and bounty office in either of them! Please hurry, Kaya is depending on you!"_

The three members of the Usopp pirates saluted their captain and rushed off with haste. They could tell, something was different this time.

The captain had sent them on a lot of different crazy adventures; some of which made absolutely no sense. Something about this one though; it felt...more serious.

Like there was more at stake then simple fun.

They had been running for almost half an hour straight when Carrot spotted it. "Guys, there it is: Pearl Town! Come on!"

The trio pressed on, focus brimming in their eyes as their legs pumped harder against the earth.

They wouldn't stop, and they wouldn't slow down. Whatever their captain needed of them they would carry out without fail. For they, were the Usopp Pirates!

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Is that everything?"

"Yeah. All that's left is to wait for them to attack and then sit back and watch the fireworks!"

"If this actually works, I'll be highly impressed."

"HEY! WHAT'S WITH THAT TONE, HUH!?"

Nami deadpanned and Usopp harrumphed as he walked away to double-check his triple-checked handy work. The two were the only people on the east shore of the island. They had spent the last hour setting up the shore line for the coming invasion. Oil trap, trip wires, falling boulders, and so on. It was all very impressive.

And very obvious.

A child could have figured out that something was amiss, with shiny black ground and giant rocks looking over head. The only vaguely subtle aspect was the tripwires, but that there's no way that would work after the first few fell for them.

All in all, a valiant effort, for what would likely be a complete clean-up job.

Or at least that's what her gut said.

The only reason that Usopp and Nami were currently working on these traps was because the long-nosed native had insisted on contributing to the battle. He acknowledged that they probably didn't need him, but Usopp had been determined to help out in someway.

The twins had left after helping to find and set the boulders, not being trusted with the more delicate portions of the ensnarements. The self-awareness shown by Luffy had frankly astonished the navigator as he dragged his pouting sister away to who knows where – likely to find Tomoe and let her know about the recent developments.

Presently, they still had three hours before the appointed time.

In other words, plenty of time to fret over the coming conflict.

Nami sighed and took another long look out at the ocean. It was going to be a good evening for a blood bath – warm with a slight northern breeze.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Kuro stepped through the gates of the manor, the guards silent as he passed. He payed them no mind, nor did he to the groundskeepers, maids, butlers, or chef that was – for some reason – outside of the kitchen

All greeted him with varying mannerisms benefiting their field and station in relation to his own. Non received so much as a shift in attention. That was fine though. This was how things ought to be – how they _had_ been since his rise to head-butler.

They were used to it.

Kuro was stopped on his way to his quarters by a familiar head of white poof and two small horns. A creature closer to sheep than man and which belonged among the freaks brought from the Grand Line for auction: Merry Pridesweather.

"Yes, Merry?" Kuro drawled in his usual fashion.

Merry's lips thinned. "The Lady Kaya wishes for an audience with you."

"Very well, I shall attend to her shortly. You may return to your duties."

He left with a nod and a stiff pass at the shoulders, leaving the sheep-man standing in the hallway. It took little time for him to reach the room of his lady on the second floor and with a series of knocks he was told to enter.

"Ah, Klahadore." The girl said with a smile. "I'm glad Merry got to you with my message. I wasn't sure when you would get back to the manor, so..."

Klahadore bowed lightly, hand over his heart. "It was a short excursion, my Lady. Hardly something of note; I just felt the urge to walk the island. Fresh air is important, after all."

"Is that why you refuse to escort me outdoors anymore, and have given an order to the others to follow through with the same?"

Klahadore blinked his surprise. His lady's voice was firmer than he had heard it in a long time and her eyes no longer held the same docile glint as they usually did.

The butler straightened himself and held the young mistress' gaze, slightly impressed she didn't back down. "So long as there are noxious elements in the outside world-"

"You mean my best friend?" She returned coolly.

Klahadore's jaw tightened imperceptibly. "If I may ask, Lady Kaya, where this is coming from so suddenly?"

"I had a chat with Merry earlier, while you where on a walk. It was... enlightening."

"I see. Enlightening how?"

"I know how you treat them, Klahadore. The other servants and workers."

His teeth clicked and his fingers tensed. _Damn_ that nuisance! Why couldn't he properly live up to his namesake? "I-"

"Don't say anything, Klahadore. I am not finished."

His jaw snapped shut and his veins pulsed. The girl he called a mistress had never sounded so strict before. He loathed it, but it wouldn't do to act out. Not yet.

"I had thought, for the past three years, that you're treatment of Usopp was something isolated. I believed, naively it seemed, that it was something that could be worked past with time, even if that meant becoming enough of adults to put aside your differences for my sake." It seemed that with every word the girl spoke she was becoming more firm and forward with her confrontation, emboldened by her own bravado.

Kaya shifted and drug the bed sheets off her body; her legs swung over the side of the bed and she stood on unsteady legs. She was still a great deal shorter than himself, but the intention was clear.

He frowned.

"It would seem, to my immense disgrace as the lady of this house, that I have not kept proper control of it. I trusted in you too much, Klahadore, as did... as did my father."

Her eyes softened with what she must have thought was sympathy. It only made him angrier.

"Having taken into consideration your actions towards not only a dear friend, but those who are supposed to be under your care and leadership, I have no choice but to put you on probation. Effective Immediately. Until further notice you will no longer be recognized as the Head Butler, and will have no authority over other members of the staff. You will report directly to Merry for all of your duties. The rest of the house has already been notified of this."

His veins pulsed again, his fingers flexed, and his frowned deepened. Even still, his voice was almost perfectly calm. "Lady Kaya, please think on what your-"

"I have." She interrupted firmly. His lip quirked venomously. "I have had the better part of three years to think about all of your actions towards Usopp, my dearest friend. Learning about your behavior towards your own subordinates, my employees, many of whom are _family_ to me, is the last straw, Klahadore."

"I... see. May I be dismissed, my Lady?"

"You may. Report to Merry for you new assignment as soon as possible."

He said nothing. He almost didn't bow. Feet spun, the door opened. The slam was such that he feared being recalled. No feminine voice reached his ears.

He snarled, his fists clenched. Servants didn't bother him as he passed, but he noticed this time; the looks in their eyes, it wasn't deference or fearful respect.

Apathy. Clear and unfiltered.

They could see it in his demeanor. They had all known; Kaya had said as much. Now they didn't have to hide that they knew. Now they didn't have to hide how they felt about him.

Trash, all of them.

They would die with her.

And he would finally have peace.

Only a few more hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Things are changing ever more, even as they stay the same. Some things are simply inevitable, as the plot demands them to be. Gotta' keep somewhat in line with the main continuity, after all.
> 
> At least until it no longer suits my purposes...
> 
> Kaya is certainly different, as I'm sure you'll have noticed. You'll probably think the turn around from the conversation last chapter is drastic. It is. It is also for a reason.
> 
> It isn't out of nowhere, as you will see next chapter. Remember when I said things are different? You already saw that with Buggy's increase in skill and the more developed relationship between Usopp and Kaya. Now, you're seeing it with the personalities of Kaya, Usopp, and Kuro and the actions taken therein.
> 
> And with that, I say to you PLEASE COMMENT! Support, critiques/criticism, theories and hopes for the future, or just whatever is on your mind, please share it with me. Such things fuel not only my desire to write, but my creative mind. I've already thought up angles to this story that I hadn't previously considered because of a conversation I had with one of you. I want that to continue!
> 
> So, live hard and love harder, and tackle every day with overwhelming confidence in yourself,
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> ~TMCO


	5. Not According to Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!

Chapter 5.

Not According to Plan

Kaya dropped back down on her bed, eyes distant and mind jumbled. The bravado that she had held against Klahadore was quickly fleeting and in its wake was only confusion.

Why had he done those things?

How had she not noticed?

What did her servants think about her, that she was so oblivious?

What... did Usopp think of her?

A self-deprecating sniff escaped her nostrils. He must be so disappointed. He'd told her not to trust the man, that he was worse than he showed himself to be, that the side he showed to Kaya was not the side he showed to others.

It _should_ have been obvious really, considering how he treated Usopp. That kind of behavior didn't just randomly come out in good people, did it? She didn't think so.

Yet she obviously had and for quite the long time.

She could only be grateful to Merry, for the conversation they had held earlier that evening, when they man had come to her quarters to notify her of the transaction he had made with Usopp's acquaintances.

_The rhythmic knocking she knew by heart sounded at the door. Five taps – hard, soft, hard, soft, normal – in a quick-slow beat. Not once had that greeting changed since her childhood._

_Kaya smiled at the noise, feeling calmer. "Come in, Merry!" She called._

_The butler entered, his characteristic cheerfulness only slightly hampered compared to usual. That went down another several notches, nearly disappearing completely, at the sight of his Mistress. "Lady Kaya, my dear girl, what's the matter?"_

_Ever aware, Merry, Kaya thought. The sheep man always knew when she was anything but happy. Perhaps it was from helping to raise her, or maybe it had to do with being a sheep-person. Either way he was at Kaya's side immediately, reason for seeing her pushed aside as he knelt before her._

" _I suppose there is no sense lying to you, Merry." She murmured. Her smile was still there, but the conflict that the butler had undoubtedly seen in her eyes had spread to her voice._

_Merry's hand reached her shoulder, and gave a gentle squeeze. "Lying never does good to those who care enough to help, my dear."_

" _No, I suppose it doesn't..." Kaya debated on her next words carefully. She knew Merry would not judge her or her actions. He never did. Not for this conversation, anyway._

" _Usopp and Klahadore."_

_Merry's face settled into a near blank state that Kaya very rarely saw. Only when they had this conversation, or those of its ilk. She didn't like it – didn't like the cause of it._

" _The Young Sir visited while we where handling business I take it?"_

_She nodded._

" _I presume Klahadore interrupted, then. Likely when he came to inform you of the deal itself. He always has the worst timing."_

_Kaya felt surprise blossom in her chest at the hard look her dear friend held while mentioning the head butler. Had that been there before? Was this the first time she had noticed it, or was it the first time he had ever done it?_

_Was it even significant?_

" _Merry..." She broached cautiously. "What are your thoughts on Klahadore?"_

_The sheep-man blinked, surprised by the question, and she swore he grimaced before settling into a more neutral countenance. "He is..."_

" _Tell me honestly, Merry. I will not fault you for anything you say."_

_Once more the man blinked, and this time Kaya had the feeling he was not used to her forwardness. Truly, she didn't fault him; not for how she had become in the year and a half._

_Merry inclined his head. "Of course, Lady Kaya." He went silent and it seemed as though he was considering how to best convey the thoughts he held. Finally, he spoke, and that which he had chosen to say was not something she could have prepared herself for. "Klahadore, my lady... is not who he shows himself to be."_

_She did not allow her mind to wander at the statement; could not, lest it find itself hurtling downwards in a rabbit hole without means of escape. "What does that mean, exactly, Merry? Who is Klahadore, if not himself?"_

" _A man of two-faces, my Lady."_

Merry had explained to her, in no uncertain detail the contrasting behavior in Klahadore. The man that treated her and her parents with the upmost respect and deference (certain issues regarding long-nosed teenagers notwithstanding), and the man that treated those beneath him as though they were dirt underfoot.

It was despicable, and she had been ignorant of it for three years.

And Usopp... her wonderful friend, her only true friend, had tried to warn her, to tell her that Klahadore wasn't as good of man as she thought.

But she hadn't listened. Hadn't wanted to.

After first she had gone along with her parents. They had trusted Klahadore with such an honorable position as head butler, allowing Merry to devote more time to other things and the man had never treated her poorly. It had felt foolish to dislike him, even as rigid as he could be at times.

And then her parents had died, and Klahadore had taken it upon himself to be her primary caregiver, ensuring her dip in health did not go beyond mere inconvenience. She had become dependent upon the man, and his aid had ensured she didn't look beyond the surface.

Then today happened, and she had yet another disagreement with Usopp about the butler. The last in a long list that she, to her shame, had nearly lost count of. It had left her emotionally drained, as it always did, but this time, something had been different.

Merry had been there.

Perhaps, a small part of her mind supplied, this was fate's way of telling her it was time to wake up. The fact that never in the three years Klahadore had been present, had Kaya felt the need and courage to discuss Klahadore with her trusted friend and caretaker was startling in hindsight, and just so that the opportunity seemed to have never before presented itself so cleanly.

Now she was here, sitting on the edge of her bed and wondering what it was that she was to do going forward. Klahadore was on probation, certainly. It would remain to be seen if he should be fired outright or if he could prove himself worthy of remaining in her employ.

Never again would he have the position of Head Butler.

But Usopp... she sighed. How did she make things right with her friend? A simple apology? A heartfelt gift and a request to serenade her with endless stories as he was so fond of doing? Pleading for forgiveness on her hands and knees? None of them were beyond her wounded pride at this point.

Already she'd asked Merry to send out an attendant in search of the wayward teen, hoping to call him to her. She wondered if he would know something was different when they directed him through the front door.

Kaya turned and looked out the window of her room. It was a lovely evening, as usual this time of year. Perfect setting for baring your heart to another person.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"There!"

The two other boys jolted at the tallest member's panting shout and followed his pointing finger towards a tavern stuck in-between to residential buildings. They trio grinned and turned on their toes, dashing for the building in question even as they weaved in between people, ignoring the calls of indignation and swearing that trailed them.

The boys bust through the french doors of the tavern, much to the attention of all of the patrons. Thankfully for them, this wasn't a pirate infested island... well, not a conventional one at any rate. That meant no one to hurl swords at their faces when they rushed to the bar and hopped up on the stools, getting into the bar keep's face.

The man raised a brow at them, obviously curious, but having no time to ask what in blazes they were doing before Onion shouted in the man's face.

"Hey old timer! Tell me! You got any old wanted posters of Kuro?"

"Kuro?" The man asked.

"Yeah, yeah! You know, _Kuro_. Like 'Kuro of a Thousand Plans', Kuro. Got any of him?" Pepper asked impatiently.

The bar keeps jaw fell a bit and his eyes widened before he scowled and crossed his arms. "And whu' in the hell is a brat like you wanting sometin' like _that_? Old poster anyway, no use tuh anyone."

Carrot groaned. "Oh come on old guy! We're on a time crunch here!"

"I don' care." The grunted. "And STOP callin' me old, damnit! I'm thirty-five!"

"That's practically ancient..." Pepper groused.

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU BRAT!?"

"Ah! Nothing, sir!" Pepper cried, ducking under the counter.

The bar keep huffed. "'ts what I thought."

"Come on, guy!" Carrot asked again. "We need it for a friend! We were sent here on a mission to get a poster of Kuro and we can't leave empty handed."

For a long moment the man stared back at the boys, his aged eyes boring into them harshly. For a moment the three feared he wouldn't give in. Then he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Fine, fine. Just stop disturbin' muh customers, ya? Yer damn noisy."

The three nodded eagerly.

The bar keep huffed out a breath. "Don' even know if I _have_ that ol' poster anyhow. Thing mus' be nearly four years ol' by now."

It took nearly ten minutes of ruffling through old bounty posters, during which the man was interrupted thrice to serve thirsty customers and take orders for the chef in the back, before he got back with the trio.

By now they were tense and worried that they would have to seek out another tavern. That was until the bar keep slapped down a worn piece of parchment onto the table with a soft bang.

"Tha' what yer all lookin' fer?"

Carrot's was the first to note the similarities. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Next was Pepper, who reacted the same way.

Lastly was Onion, who screamed out his shock at what his mind was registering. "Guys! It Klahadore!"

Like a trigger had gone off, heads turned and suddenly the boys were the subject of the whole bar's scrutinizing gazes.

" _Klahadore?_ " Someone whispered.

"Isn't that the Head Butler of the Bordeux Family?" Another asked.

A woman nodded her head. "I think so. He was the tall one with the young Lady Kaya, correct? Back when she used to come to town, that is."

"Yeah..." Another man confirmed.

"Wha'd you brats say ye needed this here poster fur again?" The bar keep asked the trio, his tone was casual, but his eyes were narrowed.

It was Onion that responded, his tone bold and proud as he spoke. "Captain Usopp tasked us with searching for and retrieving a bounty poster of a pirate named 'Thousand Plans Kuro'. He didn't tell us why, only that it was super important and that doing so would help Lady Kaya!"

The patrons murmured once more at the boys words; both at the name "Usopp" and the idea that what they were doing was directly tied to helping the Lady Kaya.

"Usopp..." One man, a younger fellow, asked. "Haven't I heard that name before?"

"Yeah.. I think so." His friend agreed.

It only spread from there and before the trio knew, the identity of their boss had been recognized within the confines of the bar.

"Hey hey, if it really _is_ that guy, are we sure this is anything to worry about? Probably just some stupid joke." A woman mentioned.

Another shrugged, her features uncertain. "Maybe? The coincidence certainly seems too much to ignore, in my opinion. And didn't the man in question appear here a couple of years ago? You know, the same time when the pirate was supposedly killed."

"I suppose..." The other woman said.

The conversation only escalated from there, with no one capable of coming to a conclusion one way or the other and everyone conflicted on what, if anything, should be done about it.

It was then that Carrot, remembering that they were one a time crunch, snatched the poster off the counter and nudged his friends. They were quick to get message and with a silent signal all three bolted off the seats and out of the bar, leaving a startled bar keep and patrons behind to argue.

"Come on you two!" Carrot cried. "We have what we're looking for and its even worse than we thought! No wonder the Captain wants this-"

"He must be wanting to show it to Kaya!" Pepper added.

Onion nodded. "Yeah. I bet something's gonna happen and he needs this to convince her that Kuro/Klahadore or whatever is actually no good so she can get rid of him before its too late."

"Right! Well, no time to waste then. Double time guys. FOR THE CAPTAIN!"

"FOR THE CAPTAIN!"

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Tomoe meandered through the underbrush, not really caring too much where she was going, figuring that, eventually, she would stumble across her captains or fellow crew-mates and be led to the action.

She wondered what could be happening on an island like this. Such an out-of the way island chain with nothing noteworthy. It was small, even by East Blue standards and the only seemingly wealthy person on the island was the girl who owned the mansion.

Not exactly your go-to take over spot unless you were desperate to escape marine intervention and figured you could rule the people without anyone noticing.

Foolish in the long term, of course, but pirates were often foolish people.

For some reason they never understood that eventually someone would slip through the cracks or a patrol would dock for whatever-the-hell reason and discover what was happening, or the people would rise up, or a bounty-hunter would happen by. So many things to go wrong; it was just impractical to even consider such ideas.

And yet so many tried.

The whole reason she was known as Pirate Hunter Tomoe was because she was that "bounty hunter" that happened by such a situation one too many times. You don't become feared for bringing in small time no-bodies for a bit of food money, after all. No, its the big ones; the idiots that think they can just take over the island or town she happens to be wandering through with zero repercussions.

Morons, the lot of them.

Of course she's going to challenge them to a fight! They think they're so tough, well then they can be her test dummy for the day. If they manage to get away, then she clearly isn't strong enough yet, if they don't... well, dinner for her.

As yet, she has not gone hungry.

A part of her wondered if her odd luck of running into stupid situations involving scummy pirates was going to continue now that she had joined a crew.

She hoped so. It would be a shame if her test dummies stopped appearing. Kind of a shame that she wouldn't be able to turn the bounties in though, being a pirate herself now and all...

Actually, could she still do that until she had a bounty of her own? She shrugged, questions for later.

On a whim, Tomoe shifted on her foot and turned left, walking through a less dense area of the forest.

In the opposite direction, about a three hundred feet away, was Syrup village, where a certain rubber duo were presently walking around, looking for her.

An odd chattering noise filled Tomoe's ears, but she ignored it.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Laya blinked over at her brother as he snickered to himself out of nowhere. They were walking through town, looking for Tomoe while they waited for six o'clock to come around. No luck so far, but that was alright.

Luffy said Tomoe would find her way to the action when it counted, after all, and she trusted his words.

So instead, she hummed happily to herself as they walked, not caring an ounce for anything going on around them. Right now it was just the two of them, her and Luffy. The thought made her giddy once more and she hummed a tad louder.

Laya never imagined that she she be in this situation: on an adventure, with a crew, with a _brother_! Sure, she had never met him prior to a few days ago, but that didn't matter. Luffy was her brother, and that meant she cared about him and him her.

If there was one thing aside from absolute freedom that Laya wanted in this world, this was it. To share that with her family, her brothers, was a dream within a dream.

And it was one step closer to being achieved.

Now if only she could get Ace to admit she would be a good captain...

"Maaaannn~" She crowed suddenly to Luffy. "I can't wait until you can meet Ace!"

"Mmm? Ace?" The thought of his brother sent a pang through him and he muscled it down it a vengeance. The oldest wound in a pile of them. One that he had just as much opportunity to heal, no less.

He wondered if this world version of his brother was just like his own. He hoped so.

Thankfully, it seemed Laya was fully willing to provide the intel.

"Yeah yeah! My older brother, Ace. Didn't I tell you about him already? Well anyway, he's _awesome_! Just like you! He uses fire though, and his hat isn't made of straw. Oh oh! And I've never been able to beat him up!"

Luffy laughed, unable to contain the happiness he felt at hearing that description. Very apt. Very _familiar_. That was good. "He sounds cool." Luffy commented. "Strong too!"

His sister bobbed her head frantically; sounds of agreement coming out of her mouth like some frantic monkey. "SUPER strong! Like, 'wrestled giant bears and tigers' strong!"

He whistled, genuinely impressed. Had his Ace ever done that? He seemed to recall instances where giant animals and fighting were involved, but the idea that Ace ever soloed them while younger was laughable.

"And what about you?"

"Shishishi! Of course!" Laya affirmed confidently. Her hand came up and clutched her flexing bicep. "I manhandled those stupid animals and showed them whose boss just like Ace did!" Her bravado suddenly deflated, as her lips pursed in a pout. "Ace did it younger than me, though..."

"Shishishi! You must look up to him a lot, huh?"

Laya mood instantly returned. "Sure do!"

Their conversation carried on in that vein for some time, talking about Laya's childhood and her time with Ace. Turns out that he had eaten his Mera Mera no Mi prior to leaving Fusha, which was interesting, but other than that most everything was as he remembered.

Never once did the conversation steer towards Luffy's own past. That was okay, good even. He didn't need to talk about it; they didn't need to hear it.

By the time they were winding down in their current point of discussion, the time was just passed 5 o'clock and the duo had arrived back at the restaurant that Usopp had taken them to when they first arrived that morning.

A grumble from their stomachs told anyone listening exactly what their minds had been thinking about besides awesome older brothers with a penchant for catching things on fire.

"Food! Food! Here we come!" / "Food! Food! Here we come!"

As the duo entered the establishment to once more fill their stomachs, they missed the three panting boys trudging through the village behind them.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"The captain! Where... is he?" Onion asked frantically.

Pepper and Onion shook their heads, unable to respond due to lack of breath. The trio had been running almost non-stop since the moment they had been given their orders. That had been nearly two hours ago. Needless to say, they were on their last legs.

If they didn't find the captain soon, then there was good chance they wouldn't have the energy to finish their mission.

"Some...thing." Pepper panted. "Any...thing."

"Just...need...some sign." Carrot affirmed.

They were walking now, no longer having the energy to move faster than a crawl. Their eyes were constantly on the look out for their captain, or even one of the members of that crew that Usopp had befriended.

Any of them would do at this point.

Hell, Kaya would do, as unrealistic as that was to happen.

"Food! Food! Here we come!" / "Food! Food! Here we come!"

As one their heads snapped to the side. The chanting of two distinct – and familiar – voices had rung through that part of the village and immediately caught their attention.

"That...sounds like-" Carrot said.

Onion nodded. "Yeah. Those...other captains. Hard...to forget."

Indeed, the duo had very distinctive voices. One reminiscent of a monkey, and the other... well, if fairies existed then she certainly was one.

A _mischievous_ fairy, of course, but a fairy nonetheless. And those were really the best kind anyway.

Otherworldly and tons of fun. What more could a boy want?

Nothing. That's what.

Regardless, they had a mission and that fairy wasn't it. Nay, but she could be. All they had to do was get this wanted poster to her and the other one and ask that they deliver it as soon as possible to Captain Usopp.

It took but a look for the trio to decide on their new course of action. Quick as their exhausted bodies would allow, they changed course and made a beeline for the restaurant. Even before the french doors swung open, they could hear it.

Eating. _Loud_ eating. It was like two ravenous beasts had been unleashed inside and were taking the place for all it was worth.

They entered and promptly found the duo. Immediately their gaze fell onto the smaller and distinctly feminine of the two. Their eyes were practically glued to her form as she opened her mouth to several times the size a normal person's limits and shoved an _entire_ chicken – bones and all! – into her mouth.

Carrot was the first to break the silence. "Well... I didn't think it was possible to still be cute when eating like a pig... I was wrong."

Pepper and Onion nodded emphatically.

It was a solid minute before they were snapped from their onlooking and Carrot stepped forward. He tapped the female captain on her leg while doing his best to avoid being sent flying by her arms as they seemed to faze in and out of existence.

Nothing happened.

He reached out and tapped again.

Nothing happened.

He reached out a third time. Unfortunately, he was no longer as cautious as he should have been. A whip of rubber impacted his face like a stray bat with a resounding _smack._

**Crash!**

The orange haired boy was sent flying back with speed before impacting the spine of the booth opposite the captains'.

"...ughhh..." He groaned.

"Carrot!" Pepper yelled in panic.

Onion clutched his hair. "Ah! Man down. I repeat, man down!"

"Come on, buddy! You can't give up now. We've come this far..."

Carrot groaned and lifted his head slightly. "You two..." He whispered. "You must... go on..." The map came up, a trembling fist grasping it. "...without me!"

Pepper shook his head vehemently. "Never!"

"That's right!" Onion yelled. "We finish this together or not at all. We're the Usopp Pirates, and we never leave a man behind!"

Carrots fists clenched tighter. "You guys..."

"Umm... is you're friend all right there?"

"GAH!"

The trio turned or looked up at the sound of someone's voice. A very _familiar,_ very _pleasing_ voice. The big doe eyes and curious gaze of the female captain centered solely on them, the food that had once littered her plate no absent.

They wanted her attention before? Well, now they had it in full.

The young Usopp Pirates blushed to their roots at the penetrating stare.

"Uhhh..." Onion said intelligently.

"Ummm..." Pepper added.

"Uggg..." Carrot finished.

Laya starred at them for a long second before she smiled wide and laughed aloud. "Shishishishi! Man you three are funny. I see why Usopp likes you!"

That, unfortunately, did nothing to ease their embarrassment and they found themselves even more strapped for something to say or do.

Thankfully for them, Luffy was also done eating and came to their rescue. "What's that in your hand?"

"Hmm?" Laya hummed curiously, seeming to take notice of the object grasped in Carrots hand for the first time.

Taking this as their chance, Onion snatched the object away and practically threw it at the duo. "Message for Captain Usopp: Mission Completed!"

With that, the onion-haired boy grabbed hold of his two friends and bolted for the door, almost dragging them along for the unexpected ride.

Back at the table, Luffy and Laya watched curiously as Usopp's three friends all hightailed it out of the restaurant to who knows where.

"Meh." Luffy shrugged.

The captain unfurled the paper in his hands and immediately understood what that had been all about.

"Eh?"

"It's the bounty poster Usopp wanted. Kuro's." Her brother clarified.

"Ooh!" In an instant her neck was stretching over the table and curving around to give her a better look at the paper. The moment she saw it her eyes widened. "Ah! You weren't kidding, that really is him!"

Luffy nodded.

"So, we need to get this to Usopp, right?"

Luffy nodded again.

"But first we need more food."

The nod she received a third time brought a smile to her face and she was practically salivating as her head retracted and her brother called the chef to bring out more of his delicious cuisine.

Oh yes, life was perfect.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Usopp stomped through the town, eyes hard, fists clenched, and breaths heavy. His destination? The manner atop the hill; home to his best friend. In his hand was clenched a very valuable piece of paper. One that, if he used correctly, would help to solve his biggest issue.

Just a few minutes ago, Luffy and Laya had approached him, their stomachs full and smiles on their face. In Luffy's hand had been a worn parchment with a peculiar bounty poster on it.

His eyes had shown like burning onyx when he had read the poster – _seen_ for himself the face that was posted. It _was_ him, the bastard Kla- no, _Kuro_.

With a fleeting yell of thanks he had left the twins behind and stormed off, destination in mind. Being on the coast of the island he was a fair distance from his destination, but that just meant he couldn't slow down for anything.

Soon enough the forest surrounding the path gave way to the plains of Syrup Village. He passed the occasional villager who scowled at him, or glared, or even looked ready for violence. On a normal day that might have phased him a little – maybe even given him reason to turn the other way. Here? Now? They didn't matter. Their grudge didn't matter.

Their name wasn't Kaya, so he didn't care.

A curtain of green caught his eyes and he blinked in momentary surprise. Why was Tomoe just wandering around like that? And was that a...? He shook his head violently and turned away.

Questions for later. Still... No! Focus! He could ponder on the oddities of the crew at a later date.

Kaya now. Straw Hats later.

In little time he found himself standing outside the Chateaux. As was usual for him he turned well before the gate and made his way over to the east side of the hedge. To a normal person, it would have looked like nothing was amiss. To his super-human eyes however, the outline of the human sized cube in the hedge was all to apparent.

With practiced ease he griped the slotted out piece and pulled, stepped through and settled the piece back into place behind him.

Usopp paused and looked around, making sure no one was around to notice him. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Now for the hard part.

Quick as he could he rushed across the side yard, heading towards the large tree that towered above everything else on the property. He hit it at a run, and launched himself upwards with a force that belied his frame. The initial hit sent him three-quarters of the way to his destination; a rapid readjustment and scrambling saw him the rest of the way and sitting securely on one of the lower branches.

It didn't take long for his keen gaze to spot the reason for his arrival to the manor. The teen couldn't keep the fond smile from tugging at his lips as he saw her going about her business. She was always so beautiful, no matter what she was doing.

Calm, elegant, always looking as though she was about to impart some divine wisdom to the land of mortals. She was perfect in every way. Well... almost.

Usopp looked down at the parchment in his hand. His smile faded slightly and his eyes narrowed in determination. This would change things though. This paper would show her – would bring his friend to her senses about the truth. And then everything would be okay again.

The long-nosed teen edged over the branch and steeled his resolve as his fist concussed repeatedly against the glass window.

He say Kaya jump in surprise and chuckled inwardly. Always so easy to startle. Her eyes widened when she saw him sitting there and a bit of tension drained when his friend practically hurled herself towards the window to open it.

That ease turned to confused hope as Kaya gripped his wrists and pulled him inside with as much strength as her fragile form could muster.

"Ack!?" He exclaimed as he fell flat on his face. "GAH!" A sparking pain erupted in his nose and he just knew something had been sprained.

He heard Kaya gasp and saw her knees appear next to his head as she rushed to him in a panic. "OH! Usopp, I'm so sorry! Are you alright? Say something...please!"

Usopp groaned and held up a shaky thumb. "Jrst fnn." He mumbled.

He felt himself being turned over and watched as Kaya mumbled to herself, all while fretting over his bent-out-of-shape nose. It was clear she was trying to figure out what to do about it without touching it. Were he not in so much pain he would have better appreciated how adorable the behavior was.

This went on for several minutes before Usopp manned the courage to reach up, take hold of his nose, and _jerk_. Kaya gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Usopp grimaced – maybe he should have told her to turn away first…

"Ooohhh...that's better." He sighed in relief. "Still hurts like crazy though."

"Usopp...Are you okay?"

He smiled widely and sat up. "A okay!" He encouraged with a thumbs up.

The girl smiled in turn, unable to resist his cheerfulness. He could tell she was still worried though, if the nervous set of her jaw and slight wringing her hands was any indication.

An awkward silence ensued from there, with neither sure of how to go about furthering the conversation.

"So um... Usopp, about earlier." Kaya began. Her voice was timid, mannerisms hesitant.

The teen perked up, keenly interested in what his friend had to say. At the same time, a acute fear of what might come next made itself known within his mind.

The heiress took a deep breath and look him in the eye, more intensely than almost any occasion he could remember. "I'm sorry, Usopp. You were right, and I was wrong, and I'm sorry for not believing you."

Usopp's mind came to grinding halt. The moment he had waited for was here, happening before him, and he had no idea how to react to it. Too many questions: how, why, when? He couldn't even handle the admission, let alone the reason behind it.

A silky smooth hand came up to caress his cheek and he jolted from his stupor and he found himself looking into the most marvelous shade of brown.

"I talked to Merry, after you left earlier." She said softly. "I asked him about Klahadore, what he and the staff thought about him." The girl shook her head and her eyes seemed misty. "How could I have been the only one so blind? Am I really so far removed from everyone that I don't notice something so obvious."

"That's not it!" Usopp insisted, voice raised and teeth grit. Kaya started slightly. "He's always acted civil around you, Kaya. He may have openly hated all of us behind the scenes, or when you aren't looking, but he always made sure to be civil."

"Except around you." She pointed out.

Usopp barked out a laugh. "Yeah, well I'm the only one that wasn't afraid to show my dislike of him. I bet he would have found some reason to talk bad about me even if I was the perfect person without a pirate for a father."

"Still..." She insisted weakly.

Usopp brought his hand up to hers that was still hovering over his cheek. He gripped it with a reassuring firmness that had her breath catching in her throat.

"You wanted everyone to get along, Kaya. That isn't a bad thing." His voice was soft, but firm. "You thought that both of us were being petty and should have gotten over ourselves. We all make mistakes."

"I should have trusted you more." Kaya denied. "You're my best friend, my only friend outside of the staff. Your word should have more weight to it than I've given it."

Usopp's lips curled into a snarky smile. "She says to the compulsive liar." He quipped.

His friend look ready to slap him for the comment. "Don't! You know that I don't think that of you. You've always been honest with me when not telling your stories. So what if the villagers get mad at your fun? It's their fault if they can't look deep enough to see you."

He chuckled affectionately. This... this was what made her so amazing to him.

"Thank you... Kaya."

The girl blinked, confused. "Huh? Whatever for?"

Usopp shook his head and the question away. "No matter! Kaya, I need you to look at this. Honestly, I was expecting to have a much harder time convincing you, even with proof, but it looks like it won't be that hard after all."

His free hand, still clutching onto the wanted poster, presented its prize to the girl. She stared at it curiously before, at his urging, taking it from him and unfurling the parchment.

It took but five seconds for the heiress to read the document in its entirety and grasp the implications of it. She swallowed heavily and met his gaze.

"This... this is real?"

He nodded.

"It's surely a coincidence, right? There's no way that this could really be the same person."

Usopp grimaced at her slightly more fearful tone. He couldn't blame her. A known criminal and cold blooded killer had been living among them for the better part of three years. A girl like Kaya would be rightfully shaken. "It's not." He said, dashing her hopes. "I overheard a conversation between him and one of his men. "

"How... why haven't you shown this to me before?"

"I didn't know. If it hadn't been for Luffy, then I would still think the bastard just a horrible butler with an attitude."

"Luffy?" She asked confused.

He gave her a genuine smile at the thought of his new friends. "Yeah! He's the captain – er, _one_ of the captains – of that crew that wants to buy your ship. He recognized Kuro and told us he had a bounty on his head. I sent the boys to one of the other towns to find an old bounty of him right away. They just got back with it."

"And?" She asked expectantly. "Are they going to take him away for us? Your friends? _Can_ they even? Klahadore- er, Kuro is a wanted pirate, Usopp, with a very high bounty. He's dangerous!"

Usopp's smile shifted into one of confidence. "Don't you worry, Kaya! We're working on a way to keep you safe as I speak these very words. Luffy and everyone are super strong, so there's nothing to worry about, promise! And even if they should fail..." He rose to his feet and struck a pose. "I – Captain Usopp! – shall keep the fair maiden safe."

Despite herself, and the situation she found herself in, Kaya giggled. There he was, he knight (pirate?) in shining armor. "So noble." She crooned with another giggle. "I know I can count on you, Usopp."

Light reflected off his pearly whites as they turned to her. "Leave it to me!"

Kaya returned the thumbs up with a smile of her own and allowed her friend to help her stand.

"Really though, Usopp. I don't like Klahad- um, Kuro, being so close by. Shouldn't we leave, or do something about him now?"

"Hehe." The teen laughed. "That's the second reason I'm here. We're getting you out and away from Klahadore. Since you're his target, staying here will only put everyone else in danger too, so I'm going to bring to Luffy and the others. They'll be able to protect you, no problem!"

"This 'Luffy' sounds like quite the person." Kaya noted idly as Usopp ushered her to gather her things.

"He is." Her friends agreed readily. "To tell you the truth, I haven't known him long and I don't even know him all that well, but I can tell you one thing for sure. He's an honest person that wants to help; him and Laya both."

"Laya?"

"His twin."

"Ah..." Kaya smiled. "I'm glad, Usopp."

He blinked at her, confused. "Eh?"

"It seems you've made more friends."

Usopp stilled, before turning away with a nervous chuckle. His finger idly scratching his reddened cheek. "Right! So, ready to go?"

In but a few moments, Kaya had changed from her resting gown to khakis and a blouse, clothes far more suited to being out and about. Her light blonde hair was also now tied in a pony tail that fell over her shoulder. She was wearing healed boots.

Usopp gulped as Kaya came out from her changing blind and stood before him.

"Ready!" She chimed.

"R-right then... Follow me! And keep quiet."

The heiress nodded seriously; or at least, she tried. The expression actually came across as more a determined pout and, damn it all, Usopp thought it was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

" _Not the time! Not the time! Not the TIME!"_ he raged internally, slamming a fist into his skull.

"Usopp! Are you okay?"

Gah! Crap... "Ah, yeah... hehehehe, just fine! Had some water in my ear is all – from swimming in the ocean earlier; you know, just doing my daily laps of the island."

"Ah..."

Right... moving along before he made an even bigger idiot of himself. Usopp reached out and grabbed Kaya's hand before leading her back the way he had entered.

His friend was nowhere near as athletic as him, and compounded with her frail form, they couldn't move anywhere near as quickly as he would have liked. Each step was nerve wracking, every shift from one safe spot to another made his heart beat faster and the thought of discovery stronger.

Usopp had no idea where Kuro was at the moment. Last he'd seen the man had been at the cliffs, but that had been over three hours ago. There was little chance that the man wasn't somewhere on the premises, and if that was the case then...

His mind flitted to the number he had seen on the bounty poster. It was a lot; more than most in this sea ever dreamed of having. More than he'd ever dreamed of having – realistically – in his many fantasies of going out to sea.

If a man like that found them now, before they reached the twins – they would be done for, he knew it.

They were at the hedge now and he let go of Kaya's hand to properly remove the foliage from place. Usopp motioned his friend through, head on a swivel throughout. " _Hurry, Kaya!_ "

The girl scuttled through with trouble, unfamiliar with the action. Tense seconds passed before a quiet call of security was sent through the hedge. Wasting no time, Usopp leaped through and replaced the hedge in two fluid motions.

Only when his hand clasped Kaya's once more and they started moving again did Usopp feel a bit of tension leave his shoulders. They were away from the manner, now they just had to get away from the mansion and to the West shore where the others were waiting.

"Miss Kaya, might I inquire as to where you're going?"

Shit...

Don't look back, don't slow down, don't say a word. Usopp marched on imperiously, hold on Kaya's hand ever firm and unwavering. He pulled her along as much as she ran beside him.

"You dare to kidnap the Lady Kaya, you fiend?!" The man yelled.

Don't look back, don't slow down, don't say a word. The mantra repeated.

"Just like your disgusting pirate of a father. Typical!"

 _Don't_ look back, _don't_ slow down, _don't_ say a word.

"To think you'd have coerced the Lady Kaya into consorting with such... well, such things are not for the ears of a lady."

 _Don't_ look back! _Don't_ slow down! _Don't_ say a word!

"I shouldn't have been surprised. And now! Now you attempt to take her away, to have your way with her no doubt."

 _Don't_... look _back_! _Don't_...slow _down_! _Don't_...say a _word_!

"I can only imagine it was a scene such as this that spawned once such as yourself. It would explain so much."

 _Don't_... look...

Usopp stopped, eyes dilated, breath coming out in furious bouts of steam. " _Shut. up._ "

"Hmm? Struck a nerve, have I?" The pirate smirked. "Don't get so bent out of shape, _boy_ , it's just the truth, after all. Though... I suppose you don't have any experience with that, do you?"

Hot air bellowed out of Usopp's nose and he took a step forward. Before he could move another, a heavy weight impacted his side and two arms swung around him, locking him in place.

" _Please, Usopp_! Don't do anything rash. It isn't worth it. You know he'll only use it against you."

Still, the sniper didn't stand down, nor did he attempt to break her hold on him. His furious gaze was locked with Kuro's own look of condescension. " _Please,_ Usopp. For me... _please._ "

The whispered words, spoken in a panic and from her heart, finally had an impact. Usopp snarled at the butler. "Yours is coming, you _bastard_." Then he turned, and Kaya let released him. "Come on, Kaya. Let's get out of here before I do something we'll both regret."

The girl nodded and hurried along after him, a hand pressed to her thumping chest and relief on her face.

As Kuro watched the pair walk away, a sneer appeared on his face. Well, that backfired. It would seem he underestimated the boy's ability to retain his self-control when properly motivated. Unfortunate. Yes, the whole situation was unfortunate indeed. This meant he would have to face the bounty-hunters to achieve his goal and hope that they didn't do anything to jeopardize his standing among the islanders.

Deciding their was nothing more to be done here, Kuro turned on his heal and began his trek back to the manor, contingencies devising themselves in his mind as he went. All the while, he was keenly aware of the curious gazes following his every move, just as they always did.

Damn nosy villagers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well...
> 
> First, I would like to say: Sorry. This took way longer than it should have, due to all of the usual culprits, really. School, work, writers block. Together they are the trifecta of anti-productivity on this site.
> 
> Also, I kinda just forgot to post the chapters on AO3 after doing so over at FF.net, so... yeah. Dun goofed there.
> 
> That being said, I have told one of you before that I won't be abandoning this fic until the day I breathe my last and that stands true. This will continue; hopefully you still care enough to read it as I struggle to put it out.
> 
> Also, I would just like to point out that this chapter has not been proofread post being completely written, so if something doesn't make sense or is blatantly poorly written, please tell me.
> 
> Honestly, I'm just ready to be past Syrup Village. It's not an easy arc to write, especially because I'm trying to not rehash canon and the location itself doesn't interest me all that much. Seriously, how many chapters is this now? Three? That's two more than should be necessary for this island in my opinion. And the crazy part? I'm trying to keep things to a minimum! It's just keep going though!
> 
> Sigh, whatever. It is what it is. Stories write themselves as much as they are written by their author, so it can't be helped. At the end of the day, I do like what I have put out, even I don't enjoy actually having to create all of the unpleasant in-between bits.
> 
> Next time!: End of Syrup Village and the crew find themselves in need of a footy food-man.
> 
> Till then,
> 
> Have a blessed day and keep dreaming of the sun,
> 
> ~TMCO


	6. Time to Go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Semi-long author's note at the end.

"HEY! LUFFY! LAYA! EVERYONE!"

Down at the cliffs, the crew were idling around the boat, where Nami was securing a bag of what looked to be money. Luffy was reclining against the front of the ship's cabin – looking to be without a care in the world – while Laya draped herself over his legs and hung off the side of the boat, mumbling incoherently about something or other.

Almost in unison the trio looked up to the shouting. Luffy gave a large smile, eyes practically sparkling, and Laya awkwardly brought an arm up to wave cheerfully, previous moodiness gone.

Nami on the other hand... "So, you must Kaya then." She said, speaking directly to the waif-like girl, as she and Usopp drew near.

Kaya blinked at the directness, but smiled politely nonetheless. With a small bow she introduced herself. "That would be correct. And you are?"

The navigator blinked once, then sighed with a wry grin. "The name's Nami. It's a pleasure." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "Those two are Luffy and Laya, our... _captains_."

"Um... captain _s_? Like, plural?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Kaya wasn't sure what to make of Nami's tone and the information at hand, so she just nodded and pushed it to the back of her mind. "Yes, well, um... Usopp-kun has filled me in on the situation. About Kla-Kuro and the fact that you wish to help me. You are really willing to go out of your way like that – even though we don't know each other?"

"Shishishi! Sure thing!" Luffy called from the back. "Usopp's a friend. And you're his friend, which means you're _our_ friend, which means we help you!"

"I...see." The heiress gave a genuine smile to the male captain. "Roundabout, but admirable nonetheless. Thank you, truly."

"If you really want to thank us, you can do it in gold later." Nami snarked. "Right now we need to deal with that pirate-butler of yours so we can get our boat from your sheep-butler and move on."

"And we have just the plan!" Usopp chimed in.

Kaya looked askance. "We do?"

"We do!" He boldly declared.

"Well that's good then. And what is this plan, exactly? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Let Luffy and Laya handle it!"

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, you did mention that they were quite strong, didn't you, Usopp-kun?" Kaya recalled. "Still... to be able to match someone with a twelve million beri bounty-"

"Shishishi!" Laya laughed. "No sweat! I'm super strong, and even if I have trouble, then there's Tomoe who's also super strong, and Luffy if neither one of us can do it. I doubt that'll happen though."

"That's right!" Usopp followed up. "Luffy's from the second half of the Grand Line! The most dangerous ocean on the planet! I doubt there's a single person in the East that can match up to him."

"The Grand Line!? Truly?"

Luffy nodded with a smile. "Yep! It's a pretty fun place, honestly. Scary! But fun."

"Only someone like you could call the most dangerous place on Earth 'fun'." Nami remarked.

"That's incredible, Luffy-san! You must be quite strong then."

"Shishishi!" The captain laughed. "Something like that."

"Say uh, where is that sword lady, Tomoe right? I don't see her." Usopp asked, looking around. True enough, the moss-headed sword user was nowhere to be seen.

Nami scoffed. "As if we're supposed to know. She just wandered off earlier and hasn't been seen since."

"Not true Nami!" Laya called, still hanging over her brother. "Me and Luffy saw her sleeping in the forest earlier. She woke up and started to follow us after Luffy told her we were gonna kick some ass though..." The fairy-girl looked left. The fairy-girl looked right. The fairy-girl looked to her older brother. "Ne, Luffy. Where's Tomoe?"

"Tomoe has absolutely no sense of direction." The man laughed. There was an undertone to his voice that the all but Laya picked up on, but couldn't decipher. "She's been wandering the forest for the past few hours, trying to figure out how to get to the town. Shishishi!"

"Seriously?!" Nami asked incredulously. "That so...so... _stupid_! What the hell? How does someone have directional sense that poor?!"

Usopp nodded in agreement. "No kidding. I mean, the forest isn't small, but you could reach any edge of it in just an hour by walking in a straight line."

"Oh, right! Tomoe doesn't know how to walk in a straight line."

BAM!

Usopp and Nami were forced to pick themselves off the ground, disbelief clear. Kaya looked very much like she wanted to be in their position, but was too poised to actually do so. And Laya...

"Oh man! That's hilarious! Shishishi! I love our crew! Hehehehe!" The girl cackled, slapping the side of the boat as she writhed around.

"Hey, Luffy." Nami said, an accusing lilt to her voice. "If you knew where she was this whole time, why didn't you drag her with you?"

The captain shrugged, unperturbed. "Tomoe'll be fine. She found her way to Buggy on her own; I'm sure when the time comes she'll be where she needs to be."

"My, that's quite the bit of faith you have in your crew, Luffy-san." Kaya complimented.

The man grinned at her with a thumbs up, and got a smile in return.

" _Unfounded if you ask me._ " Nami grumbled. Usopp gave a 'what can you do' gesture. The overall attitude of the older rubber captain had started to become familiar to the local and he didn't seem like a person easily swayed.

"Right! Well, we have a ship to buy." Nami piped up. "It's just after five-thirty, so we should probably start heading to the manor."

"And Kl-Kuro?" Kaya asked. "He's likely to be there as well."

"Honestly?" Nami asked, looking at the other girl. "Since Usopp was able to retrieve you safely, it doesn't really matter how things go, so long as we get the boat away from any conflict safely. Even if something happens, then you'll be there to vouch for us and back up our story. That being said, he's not likely to try anything, since he has no idea how strong we are. He won't want to risk being captured or killed."

"That's right." Usopp added. "And since Kuro's not gonna let his crew attack while we're here. It'll only be him we have to deal with at first."

"Crew?" Kaya asked with a touch of worry. She looked to her friend. "You didn't mention anything about a crew, Usopp-kun."

The sniper blinked in surprise, before rubbing his head and laughing, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks. "Did I not? Sorry Kaya. I guess I was more focused on Kuro, since he was the immediate threat."

"Well when you put it like that-"

"The plan's easy!" Luffy called out, now standing on the deck of the boat. Laya had taken her favored position as a limpet on his back, head resting on his shoulder. "Get the boat, then kick Kuro's ass!"

"And then kick his crew's ass!" Laya added cheerfully.

Her brother nodded affirmatively.

"Well, with confidence like that, how can we lose?" Usopp said wryly.

Kaya giggled. "Yes, it is quite an infectious energy, isn't it?"

"Idiots. The both of them." Nami remarked. "Still, they're strong idiots, so I guess it's fine."

Chuckles made the rounds as the mood was kept light. "Right! Usopp, you stay here with Kaya and make sure nothing unexpected happens. Luffy, Laya, your with me to get the boat."

"Right!"

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Captain Jango! All preparations are in order and the crew is ready to approach and disembark."

"Hmm. Boo-de-bop-bop, yeah..." The captain spun on his heel, throwing his hand out as he snapped the other one down by his side. "That's the stuff." He looked to his crew member. "Captain Kuro said the bounty hunter wouldn't be buying the ship until six and he wants to wait till they're gone to attack. So, we'll wait till six, then head to shore."

The crew member nodded and rushed off to inform the rest of the crew.

Alone again, the captain shuffled side to side, holding his hat with one hand and his crotch with the other. All the while, strange sounds emanated from the room.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

The trio took their time making their way through Syrup village and to the Badeaux Manor. As they walked, Nami couldn't help but notice the eyes that were watching them most of the way.

"I swear, don't these people have anything better to do than watch _us_? I don't think I've seen a single person in this village do anything but stare."

"Maybe they're just curious, Nami." Laya chimed.

"Their 'curiosity' is starting to piss me off."

Little more was said after that, aside from whatever Laya was mumbling into Luffy's ear, causing the man to snicker.

Honestly, it baffled Nami how close the two of them were despite only knowing each for less than a week – assuming she actually believed that, of course. Hell, if she didn't know better she would swear the duo were lovers or something because of how familiar they got at times. She shivered. That... was not a pleasant thought to dwell on, at all. Yep, no more of that.

Regardless, it was like they had no personal boundaries... scratch that, they _had no_ personal boundaries. Laya certainly more than Luffy, who was by and away the more reserved of the pair, but both were worse than what could be considered normal. At least it was usually focused on each other- Nope! Never mind! Not going there.

Still... she couldn't deny that she enjoyed being around them. They'd known each other for not even three days and she already felt attached to the atmosphere they so effortlessly exuded. Even now, the two were so carefree that it was hard to keep focused on the fact that they were in a potentially volatile situation.

It was enviable, and she both hated and loved it.

"You alright, Nami?"

The girl jolted at looked at the captains. It was Luffy that had asked, while Laya gazed in owlish concern and curiosity.

Doing her best to ignore the piercing cuteness, she put her focus on Luffy. "Wha-? Oh! Yeah, just fine."

Nami's opinion of her (temporary!) captain went up a notch when he smiled and accepted her obvious lie, despite his eyes telling a different story. Laya, bless her, just accepted the words at face.

Soon enough they were at the Manor, with five minutes till six. Time, though, seemed irrelevant now, since there was a very attractive caravel class ship sitting in front of the manor gates, a sheep man and pirate-in-disguise standing next to it.

Merry waved jovially to the trio as they approached. His good mood was a stark contrast to the scowling, almost venomous, visage of Kuro. The pirate-butler was clearly unhappy with them, most likely knowing that they had Kaya safely away from his grasp and plans.

Poor thing. All of his dastardly plans gone just like that. What a shame.

"Ah, welcome back, welcome back!" Merry greeted. "I see you have your payment. So, what do you think?"

The sheep-man gestured to his creation and all three crew members had to admit, it was quite the ship. Simple, yet appealing, with a look about it that seemed to project "reliable".

It was a perfect first ship for their misfit band.

"It's perfect." Luffy said immediately. There was a strange quality to his voice; one that Nami had noticed would arise every one in a while. She had no idea what triggered it, but it always tugged at her chest to hear it.

She looked over at her captain. His eyes shone with fondness and his smile, so full of warmth and reminiscence, brought a smile to her own face.

"Shishishishi! Definitely perfect." Laya chimed.

Nami, not really knowing what to add, just nodded and gave Merry a smile of thanks. This wasn't really her ship, after all – what right did she have to judge it?

"I'll want to do a preliminary on the ship, make sure its in proper working order and everything first, but otherwise I think we'll have a deal, Merry." She told the man.

"Wonderful! I'm pleased to hear that you like it so much." A wistful smile appeared on the man's face and he turned to the ship. "Yes, the _Going Merry_ I called her." He chuckled dryly. "She was meant to carry Lady Kaya and Master Usopp for when they inevitably set out to the sea... then everything changed three years ago. Now, she simply sits, waiting for someone to care for her before she rots away, forgotten."

Nami's tongue flicked out, moistening her suddenly dry lips. She silently acknowledged the man's words before turning and beginning her inspection of the boat, mind wandering.

The veteran captain looked at his ship, his _nakama_ , fondly. _"It's been awhile, Merry."_ He thought. Luffy reached out and placed his hand gently on the bow. He took in the feel of the wood, the texture of the grain and paint. So familiar. His eyes closed for just a moment, taking it all in.

"Don't worry Merry." He whispered, voice firm and confident. "No one will love her more than us. I promise you that."

Merry swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes blinked rapidly and he turned slightly away. "I...see. Thank you."

The twins grinned at the man, which only served to make him more emotional.

Kuro rolled his eyes, seeming quite irritated by the conversation.

He was ignored.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Once Nami was done appraising the ship and was happy with what she found, she instructed Luffy to hand over the bag and promptly counted out the full two million to Merry and Kuro.

"Pleasure doing business with you all." Merry said, his mood recovered slightly. "I pray she serves you well."

Luffy laughed. "Shishishi! Thanks Merry! I know she will."

"Definitely!" Laya agreed. "I can already tell she'll be a great ship. And now that she's ours, this means we're one step closer to being official! Woo!"

"As a last point, however, do you all have anyone to aid you in moving the ship to the shore?" Merry asked, looking around. "It took a fair few members of the staff and ship-yard hands to haul it here."

Nami blanched, having not considered that. "Umm... about that-"

"Yep!"

"Eh!?"

All eyes turned to Luffy, who already had the rope in his hand. "We have me. So we're all set!"

"Uh, I don't think-"

"Don't worry about it! I've done this before. And Merry's light, so it'll be no problem."

"Ah... In that case, go ahead, I suppose."

"Sweet! Come on, Nami, we should get back to the others."

A dumbfounded Nami was jerked out of her daze as Luffy called out to her. He had already started to pull the ship by the giant rope – that just so happened to be the width of his head – and was walking away. Meanwhile, Laya was singing out "We have a ship! Our very own ship!" from his back.

"AH! Wait...Luffy!"

"How peculiar." Kuro remarked, speaking for the first time. _"To do such a thing so casually... That one's strength is immense... dangerous."_

"Yes..." Merry hummed in agreement. "They are quite something, aren't they? I can see why they are bounty hunters, with strength like that!"

All said, the two returned to the Manor proper, where Merry dismissed the moving crew for the boat and the two men then went about their business.

"I should probably check on Miss Kaya." Merry said thoughtfully. "She'll want to know that everything went well for the sale."

Several feet away, Kuro froze. Suddenly, a smirk appeared on his face and he turned. "About that, Merry. I believe there is something you should know about the Lady of the House."

Merry blinked and turned, eyes narrowed. "And what would that be, Klahadore."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

At the shore, shortly after Luffy, Laya, and Nami leave...

"I can see why you like them." Kaya said idly.

Usopp grinned. "Yeah. They're pretty great, huh? Honestly, I never imagined I'd have a day like this when I woke up this morning, and now..."

"Everything has suddenly been flipped on its head?" His friend provided easily.

The sniper laughed. "Beyond all imagination! Even mine!"

"Oh my!" Kaya giggled. "That is quite the feat. I didn't think anything could surpass that incredible mind of yours."

Usopp blushed scarlet and stammered out a reply that got lost in the tinkering laugh of his longest friend. Eventually he just huffed and reclined against the wall of the cabin. The two had retreated to the safety of the cabin, away from prying eyes and the chilled winds of the ocean that beat against the shore.

Besides the young man, Kaya reclined against the wall, allowing her side to slide up against Usopp.

For the first time in almost three years the duo enjoyed the other's presence without worry of interruption or rebuke. Idle chatter ruled the small space, interspersed by chuckling and giggling as the two lost themselves in each other.

Eventually though, Usopp fell silent, and Kaya soon after. A tension settled between them, only to be broken by the heiress as she rested a calming hand on Usopp's shoulder and directed him to look her in the eyes.

As he turned, Usopp's breath caught in his throat and he cursed internally. No way was he getting around that look.

"You want to talk about something." She said simply.

He forced the lump down. His tongue flicked out, wetting suddenly dry lips. "Yeah." He croaked.

"It's about _that_ , isn't it?"

He just nodded.

"I'm coming along."

"Ye- Wait wait wait WHAT!?" His eyes bulged and he waved his hands in panic at the sudden turn. "Hold up, Kaya! What do you mean, 'i'm coming along'? You can't!"

Kaya crossed her arms and huffed, a deep frown on her face and her brow furrowed. "And why not?"

"B-b-b-because! You just- it's _dangerous_!" He exclaimed, still panicking. "You'll get hurt!"

"You don't know that." She retorted, brow raised. "That's not a guarantee. Nothing is, and that's a risk I'm willing to take. For you. For _us_."

"..."

Kaya sighed and replaced her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. "We've always wanted to go together, Usopp-kun. That only changed when I fell ill; but it only changed for you."

He looked her in the eye, desire and fear warring within him. " _Still_. You're sick-"

"No. I'm not."

Usopp froze. Shock littered his face. "Wha-? Kaya, what are you talking about? You mean this whole time, you-"

"No, Usopp-kun." She quickly interrupted him, knowing where his mind was going. Kaya smiled sadly. Her hand dropped and reached for his; he didn't fight it as she laced her fingers with his own. "I _was_ sick – truly. I haven't been for over a year now."

Her words only seemed to confuse him more, as he floundered for something to say. "Kaya, that's great! I just... I don't get it?"

"I know," she whispered gently, "and I'm sorry for not telling you, Usopp-kun."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because, it wouldn't have mattered."

"Huh?"

"I don't think it's a secret that my sickness was caused by grief. But what people don't know is that I came to grips with their death a year ago. Unfortunately, trying to recover from being bedridden for two years, and without anyone knowing, isn't easy. I've been trying to get back my strength, so that I can stand beside you properly when you leave, but I'm still weak." Her face fell and she dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I wanted to show you my progress when I was confident in it, but now..." Her hand squeezed his tighter. "You've been inspired, haven't you?"

Usopp nodded, not trusting his voice.

"And I'm not strong enough to join you, yet." She admitted, her voice trembling slightly. "You're right, the oceans are dangerous, and I'm still weak. But I don't care. I know I can't stop you, so I won't. I'm not going to try and stop you, Usopp-kun. I am going to join you, regardless of how prepared I am."

"..."

"Do you accept, Usopp-kun?"

"..."

"Usopp-kun?"

"...you know I can't ever win an argument against you when you're serious..." He muttered.

Kaya beamed and snuggled into his shoulder. "I know. But I wouldn't ask if I didn't know you'd accept anyway."

"..." Usopp sighed in defeat. A resigned yet humored grin tugged at his lips as his own head dropped down onto hers. "Yeah, I know."

.

.

.

CRASH!

The pair jolted and separated. Usopp stood and rushed to the peep hole to peer outside. He looked out. He gulped.

"Usopp-kun, what it is?"

The sniper turned stiffly, a nervous sweat on his brow. "You uh... you remember when we mentioned that Kuro had a crew, right?"

Kaya nodded, realization dawning.

"Well, they're here."

Kaya gestured for him to move over before she took his place and looked out the peep hole herself. "Oh my!" She gasped. "There's so many..."

The heiress turned back and looked at her friend. "What are we going to do, Usopp-kun? I don't think either of us are capable of taking care of that many people. What if they notice our ship?"

"Hmmmmm..." Usopp fell back into a seat and worried his knuckle. " _Why are they on_ this _side_!? This isn't right!"

"Usopp-kun?"

"No matter. We can just lie low and keep hidden in the boat. We just have to hope that the others come back before we get found out, otherwise we're screwed."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"I know. I know." He growled. Usopp's face scrunched up as he tried to think of ways out of their predicament. "Damn it! _Think_!"

Kaya worried her lip as she watched her friend fret. She wasn't really sure what to say or do in this situation, and was sure she wasn't alone in that. In the end, she decided to turn back to the peep hole and watch outside.

At the very least, they wouldn't be caught unaware again.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Hey! Luffy! Wait-why are you speeding up!?" Nami yelled as she raced after her captains.

She cursed. The hell was wrong with him? All of a sudden he had gotten a serious look on his face and then launched away, ship in tow.

"I swear, if those two are playing around, I'm gonna beat their heads in for leaving me behind."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Hmm?"

Tomoe looked over the cliff that she had stumbled upon in her search for the village. Honestly, she had no idea how she'd managed to come to the edge of the island. Maybe she could follow it to their ship? She was pretty sure the village was a straight shot from there, so long as she stayed on the path.

Easy.

It wasn't long before she noticed something odd in the distance. Tomoe squinted and upped her pace. Was that...?

A pirate ship.

An _unfamiliar_ pirate ship.

"So it's started, huh?" She murmured. A savage grin tugged at her lips. She broke into a sprint. "Time for some fun."

A chittering reached her ears, just barely audible over the blistering winds. She ignored it. The problems of woodland animals were not hers.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Ah! Usopp-kun, they've noticed the ship; they're approaching!"

The sniper cursed and jumped to his feat, only just managing to not slam his head. From his belt he pulled out his sling shot and reached into his pack for the lead pellets he always carried on his person.

"Get behind me, Kaya!" He demanded. His sling shot came to bare, and his expression hardened.

Kaya didn't bother arguing and quickly moved so she was firmly behind her friend. Fearful that gripping his back would distract Usopp, she worried her hands in silence.

Moments passed in tense silence. Soon enough the creaking of the boat pierced through the door. Usopp drew his sling back. The creaking got louder and more numerous; the sniper cursed.

" _Come on, you guys! We need your help right about now!"_

Cold sweat dripped down Usopp's brow. He clinched his arms as he noticed them shaking. No weakness. No fear. Not now; not in front of Kaya.

He would be strong! He would be brave! He had to be, for himself, for her.

" _Damn it, though! Why is it so hard to stop shaking! I can't be scared, not now. She needs my strength. If I can't..."_ Usopp gritted his teeth until they creaked. A stray tear ran down his cheek as the nerves built to a boiling point. _"Shit! Shit! Shit! This is so stupid! Why couldn't it have been something simple? Like literally_ anything _but an entire crew ready to slit our throats!"_

The creaking was right upon the door and the voices of those about to discover them were audible.

The cackling and vile ribbing of the pirates as they pondered loot and victims sent a chill down both teenagers' spines. Kaya dropped down further behind Usopp's back and he took a final shuddering breath in a futile attempt to expel his fear.

Suddenly, a loud thump echoed from outside, followed shortly by panicked yells and various quieter thuds. Then, silence.

Hope blossomed in Usopp's chest. _"Please! Oh please, let that be one of the others. I don't care which one!"_ Even so, his arms remained up and his sling-shot was kept taught.

The nob was turned and the door to the cabin abruptly opened. At the silhouette of a women with long hair and more than a single sword, Usopp felt all of the tension in his body bleed away. His muscles nearly went limp in relief. This had the unfortunate side effect of releasing his hold on his sling.

"Ah-!" He didn't have time to correct the mistake as the lead pellet was shot forward like a bullet.

CLING! The pellet was promptly deflected by a raised sword.

Usopp breathed a sigh of relief even as Tomoe stepped into the cabin. "Glad you seem capable of fighting back." The warrior noted in approval. "Still, try to not shoot at an ally next time, huh?"

Usopp could only nod.

"Great." Tomoe turned to leave, then paused. With a backwards glance she said, "The battle outside's just begun. If you want to join I suggest you pick yourself up and dust off; otherwise, stay put and keep quiet – I'll make sure they don't come near the ship."

With her piece said, Tomoe lept away and into the fray. The sound of swords clashing and men yelling in pain followed shortly and Usopp gulped anew. "So intense."

"Usopp-kun?"

The teen turned and looked at his friend. She looked as she sounded: lost. "Kaya?" He wasn't sure what to say, or how to ease her mind.

Kaya's jaw worked wordlessly, opening and closing twice before she she her a head and looked him in the eyes. "Are you going out there?"

"I..." He paused, then turned to where the open door clearly let through the sounds of battle. As he listened, a thought made itself prevalent in his mind. Stronger and stronger it grew until, before he knew it, his mind had already been made up. Usopp turned back to Kaya and gave her a smile. "No. I'm going to stay here and make sure nothing happens to you. That's my job, after all!"

Kaya nodded mutely and wiped a stray tear at her eye.

"Alright then!" Usopp proclaimed, full of bravado. "First things first... shut the door! Quietly~"

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Luffy slowed his pace as he sensed another person enter the fray. He smiled, pleased that his confidence in his crew wasn't unfounded in this time either.

"H-hey! L...l-luffy!" Nami shouted. Or tried at least. The girl was out of breath from sprinting after her captain for the span of the whole village. After taking a moment to compose herself, the navigator allowed her irritation to come out properly. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!? HUH?! Leaving me behind like that... jeez!"

"Hmm?" Luffy offered the girl a side glance. "Oh, sorry Nami. The pirates decided to attack already, so I started rushing. But Tomoe showed up a second ago, so it's alright."

Nami blinked. "Wha- the pirates? Tomoe? How do you know that? And shouldn't we still be rushing to help?!"

He waved her off as Laya laughed. "Nah! I bet Tomoe's having a bunch of fun right now. We'd just ruin it if we joined it before she's had her fill."

Luffy nodded in agreement and the two continued on, leaving a frozen Nami to baffle at their nonchalance. She snapped out of it soon enough and marched after the pair, her face darkened and features twisted in frustration. "Honestly." She muttered. " _First Orange Town, and now this. I've joined a crew full of battle hungry maniacs. If your antics get me killed, I_ swear _I will haunt_ all of you _till the end of your days_! _"_

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Metal sparked and ground against itself for all of a moment before one side gave way. A pained yelp escaped her victim's throat as blood came rushing from his wound, staining his clothes and splashing on her as the man dropped to the ground.

She turned and gave a hard upward slash with her right, avoiding another man's guard and cutting deep into his abdomen. At the same time her other hand rose in an overhead to her back. In a single fluid motion she spun and flung away the offending sword, knocking her opponent off balance as she brought her left down to slash through his neck.

Tomoe grinned as the men around her grew more hesitant in their approach. She loved this feeling, the thrill of putting herself against others and testing her limits. Alone, these men meant little; together though? Well, she was starting to get warmed up, if only just.

She cut down another two people in quick succession and block the strikes of three more from a coordinated attack. Pathetic. None of these fools knew how to use the very weapons they wielded, let alone how to kill someone like her with them.

She didn't even need her third sword for this.

A horde of men was rushing her from the back, their formation close and sloppy. They probably weren't even thinking about what they were doing wrong. Ah well – it was their heads.

Tomoe readied her swords as her body shifted into the proper stance. "Nitoryu..." As soon as the group was within range, she spun in place, swinging her swords in full arcs. On her second full spin she brought her lead arm to bear in a swift downward arc. "Takanami!"

"GAH!" The storming pirates scream in shock as they were pushed back and knocked down. Some were impaled on the swords of their comrades while others slammed their heads into the ground and were promptly rendered unconscious.

Tomoe smirked at the cloud of dust and rock that she created. The hawk wave was a perfect technique to use on large groups of weak enemies.

As the swordswoman ran through the battlefield anew, cutting and slashing pirates before they could react to her, she wondered where the big names were.

She knew Kuro was the captain, but there was always one or two more – even on weaker crews – that could put up a decent fight.

Now to just get them to come out and play...

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Hmm? Looks like Tomoe's having fun." Laya said from his shoulder.

Luffy nodded as he pulled the boat off to the side of the cliff, where it could be anchored to the trees for the coming conflict. "It's important to let loose after doing nothing for so long."

Laya hummed in agreement as she maneuvered herself on his back. Luffy knew from experience what she was doing and merely continued tying the ship up. "Imma join in!" Without waiting for a word, the rubber girl launched off of his back and sailed through the air.

"Woooohoooo! Shishishishi!"

CRASH!

Luffy sniggered at the sound of destruction that followed his other self's landing.

"Are you not going to help?" Nami asked as she approached. She was surveying the scene below, as Tomoe and Laya mowed through enemies like they were blades of glass.

The male captain finished the rope and joined her in viewing the carnage. "Nah." He dismissed, bringing his hands behind his head. "That'd ruin their fun."

And truly, it did seem that both Tomoe and Laya were having quite the time, beating up nameless pirate scum left, right, and center. Every once in a while they noticed a pirate manage to get passed their reach and make his way to their own boat, only to be shot down by a lead pellet.

"See? Even Usopp's helping out. They don't need me."

"I suppose." Nami murmured. "I still feel like the captain should be fighting too, though."

At that Luffy smiled, and for some reason, Nami found she didn't quiet like this one. It was... different to the others. Foreboding even. "I'm waiting."

Her brow furrowed. "For what? They're almost done down there-" As she said that, three people joined the fray. All strangely dressed, and noticeably stronger than the rest of the crew. Tomoe and Laya quickly had their attention shifted to dealing with the newcomers as they started to cause problems.

"Nevermind." She amended. "Still..."

"Kuro."

"Huh?"

Luffy turned to her fully, eyes gleaming with an emotion she had never seen from him prior.

Hatred. And not for her.

"I'm waiting for Kuro. He's gonna show up; and when he does _I'm_ going to kick his ass." His tone brokered no argument. Nami just nodded her understanding.

"And if they other's need help?"

"They won't."

"But-"

"They _won't_."

She sighed in defeat. There was that confidence again. Still... she looked from the captain to the rest of their makeshift crew, a certain appreciation filling her. It was admirable, the level of trust he put in them.

Even if she did think it stupid.

Though the other two women on the crew seemed to be doing a good job of living up to Luffy's expectations, as they had their opponents on the ropes. Laya against two cat-themed men, and Tomoe against a weirdo with chakram.

It was just as Laya had dealt with the cat-men before moving on to the stragglers and Tomoe was putting the weirdo to sword-point that _he_ appeared.

Luffy, who had felt the man approach, moved to make himself visible. What he saw just made his blood boil even further.

There stood Kuro, claw-blades out and gleaming. In his off hand was Merry, unconscious and freshly bleeding from several deep gashes along his torso.

The pirate butler paused as he noticed Luffy. He pulled Merry up and gripped him closer as his free hand rose to place his blades at the sheep-man's neck. Kuro smirked at Luffy. "Try anything and he-"

"!"

Kuro's gaze snapped side to side, searching frantically for where the straw-hatted man had disappeared to. _"So, he has a speed technique as well? This...this is different though. He can control it. This man-"_

Kuro gulped as he felt a hand close around his neck. A pressure descended on the area and the pirate-butler's brow started to sweat as his heart rate doubled.

" _Let him go._ "

"Or?" Kuro asked, trying to hold his ground. It wasn't easy. Whoever the man was, he was beyond the East. "From my point of view, we're at a stalemate."

The pressure on the area increased. Kuro nearly choked on it. Suddenly he felt a death grip on his left arm. The one threatening Merry's life.

"Wa-!"

 _Crunch_.

"Grk...! AAGH!" Kuro screamed as his forearm was shattered. _"So easily?!"_

But Luffy wasn't done. His grip still on the shattered forearm, he _pulled_. Kuro gurgled in pain as tearing ligament and muscle was punctured by fragments of bone.

Luffy barely looked as he whipped his arm up, swinging it around like a lasso until Kuro was little more than blur.

He swung down. Kuro followed. A boom echoed as dust and debris was kicked up. As it cleared, Kuro was revealed. Unconscious and bloody. The arm that Luffy was still gripping was mangled and looked ready to fall off his body at the slight provocation.

Luffy retracted his arm and stared down at Merry. "Nami!"

"Huh? O-oh! Uh, yes?"

"I need you to go to town and find a doctor for Merry. Please hurry."

Nami nodded rapidly and took off in a sprint.

Alone, Luffy took stock of the rest of the battlefield. It seemed like his crew was finished.

He nodded in satisfaction.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Nami tried desperately to calm the storm that was her mind as she ran towards the village. Her pulse was racing faster than it should and her face was pale.

" _That was... Luffy was..."_ She shivered, nearly tripping in her run. _"It wasn't even directed at me and I still felt that overwhelming sense of danger."_

The tension in the air, that palpable sense of danger that flowed around her temporary captain, it was beyond immense. And his eyes...

" _So, that's what he's been hiding beneath that happy facade."_ She knew there had to be more. There always was. Even Laya had her own serious side that she had shown briefly in Orange Town.

" _But not that serious. That was just..."_ Nami shook her head to dispel the memory. It was too much. She didn't- she couldn't put those eyes on his face. It wasn't right.

Finally, she reached the town. "Now where would the doctor be?" Knowing somewhat the habit of the villagers in this town she ran over to the nearest house and pounded on the door.

A minute later she was hurrying down towards the north side, pleased at how easy people were.

It didn't take long for her to find the doctor in his house and for the situation to be explained in the briefest possible terms. For a moment, the man thought her to be there on behalf of the town's resident troublemaker, Usopp, however Nami was quick to rebuke him.

"Are you really going to take that chance!?" She hissed at the startled man. "If he dies, it's on _you_!"

He promptly excused himself to get the needed supplies.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"Ah! Merry!" Kaya screamed in shock and raced to her friend. "What happened!? Oh, Merry! Merry!"

But the sheep-man didn't respond. He was thoroughly passed out and with no chance of waking up so long as he was still losing blood. Tears flowed from Kaya's eyes as she cradled her caretaker, rocking him back and forth in an effort to comfort herself.

Suddenly, a hand fell upon her shoulder and turned to look up. She was surprised to see Luffy's smiling face looking down at her. "Don't worry." He said confidently. "Nami is on the way with a doctor. And Merry isn't gone yet. If he were in danger of dying than I would have taken him myself."

Stunned, Kaya swallowed her tears with a nod. With his piece said, Luffy allowed the girl to return her attention to her fallen friend, unwilling to let him go.

"Tomoe, Laya. Have fun?"

The duo grinned at him.

"It was a decent warm up."

"Sure did!" Laya said happily. A pout then appeared on her face. "Had to fight some weird cat people that tried to trick me though. Nearly got Shank's hat clawed up. But I kicked their asses for it!"

"Shishishi! Good! Ah, hey Usopp!"

"What's with that surprise!? I've been here the whole time, ya jerk!"

Luffy laughed and shrugged as the sniper grumbled and went back to standing guard over Kaya and Merry, tension in his eyes and posture.

The banter between the group was kept light as they waited for the doctor to arrive. Luffy's – and Laya's – ability to direct the conversation to mundane and often irrelevant points of conversation was such that even Kaya –fretful as she was – found herself giggling every so often.

Eventually, a sweaty and tired Nami arrived with a thoroughly out of breath doctor. The man took one look at their group, then to Kaya and Merry, before dropping to his knees in front of the wounded man and getting to work.

"Mind telling me how this happened?" The doctor posed to the group.

Kaya, who was kneeling close by, spoke up first. "Klahadore. He- he wasn't who he told everyone he was. His real name was Kuro, and he was actually a pirate with a bounty of 12 million beli."

"He wanted Kaya's fortune." Usopp continued. "Not really sure how he was going to convince her to give it over, but..." As he trailed off a thought occurred to the teen and he reached into his pouch to pull out a bit of parchment. He held it out so the doctor could see while continuing to patch up Merry.

The face that stared back at him left the medicine man speechless. "No kidding..." He whispered. "A spitting image."

"These people." Kaya said, gesturing to the crew members. "They just defeated Kuro and his crew for us. Myself and the whole of the town owe them greatly."

"I see... In that case, thank you all." The doctor bowed his head respectfully, which the crew all returned in their own ways, before the man was once again focused on his work.

When the doctor was completed, he looked up at Luffy and said, "You there, young man. I need your help here. Merry-san is heavy and I'm not strong enough to move him without jostling his injuries."

The captain complied and soon, Merry was sitting comfortably in the man's arms, torso bandaged heavily. He looked over this crew mates. "Laya, Nami, you two round up the pirates that are alive and tie them up with rope." The girls nodded, though Nami looked distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of dead pirates. "Tomoe, help them out, but keep an eye on Kuro. If he twitches, cut him."

All eyes turned to the beaten and bloody form of Kuro, still unconscious. Those of weaker constitutions paled.

"Umm... should I...?" the doctor asked.

"Let's go doctor." Luffy ordered, walking off. The man started but quickly matched pace.

"Hey, wait!" Usopp called out. "What about us?"

Luffy stopped, turned, and gave a dead stare to the sniper. Usopp gulped. "Why are you asking me?"

"Eh?"

The captain was already walking away again, leaving the group to go about their business.

"Usopp-kun."

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to go with Merry and Luffy-san. Will you come with, or are you going to stay here with the others?"

"..." Usopp looked into the distance, catching the back of Luffy's vest, then down to his friend. His eyes scanned around as he turned his head towards the straw hats and their clean-up job. In short order he found Kuro, untouched since being defeated by Luffy. The sight of the bastard wasn't pleasant, but he found a sort of sick contentment in seeing it.

The longer he stared, the more the conflict in his mind was solidified.

His eyes turned back to Kaya and he instantly knew that no words were needed. His friend smiled up at him and stepped in for a hug. " _I'm glad to have you back, Usopp-kun._ "

Usopp blushed, but had the presence of mind to wrap his own arms around Kaya's waist. " _Y-yeah, you too._ " He held her tight, a sense of euphoria filling him.

All too soon she broke away, giving way to a distinct emptiness. "See you soon, Usopp-kun."

The long nosed teen stood slightly dazed as he watched the beautiful girl hurry away.

"Hey! Long nose!"

Usopp started and turned. Tomoe was staring him down, eyes hard. He gulped. "Y-yes?"

"If you're staying, then help out!"

"R-right! Sorry!"

"Ummm... have any rope?"

A bundle of rope promptly smacked him in the face, before getting caught on his nose. His lips pursed. "Thanks..."

 _Kuro_. Usopp thought the name with disgust. He stared down at the man, almost wishing he would twitch so Tomoe could carry out her orders. As he knelt and began to tie up the conspiring captain, Usopp called out to the green-haired swordswoman. "Hey Tomoe."

"Hmm?"

He gestured to Kuro with a nod. "I know you have your orders... but let me shoot him first."

The woman stared at him, before smirking. "Sure."

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

"You all. I cannot convey with words the gratitude that I feel for you and what you have done. Truly!"

The group smiled at Merry, now bandaged up and without fear of death. The man was surprisingly sturdy for a non-combatant.

"Don't mention it, Merry!" Luffy declared. "We were helping out friends; that's all the reason we need."

His comment got nods from some and smiles from the rest. "A noble view of the world, Captain; one that I doubt many others of your occupation have."

The man grinned but didn't respond.

"Anyway!" Merry continued. "As a show of appreciation for what you all have done, I want to give you this..." He pulled something from behind his back and held it out for Luffy to take.

Nami gasped, as did Kaya and a third came from somewhere above them.

"But that's-"

The sheep-man nodded, surety in his actions. "The money you gave me for the _Going Merry_ , yes. I want you to have it back."

The money was out of the man's hands almost before he finished. Nami's eyes positively gleamed, then she paused as she caught herself. "Ah... are you sure about this, Merry? I mean..."

Merry gave a baying laugh that gave all present the mental picture of a sheep. "I am sure, Miss Nami."

"Take it, Nami, please."

"Kaya?"

The girl smiled that gentle smile. "We want to thank you. Please let us."

The navigator stared at them both for several seconds before sighing and shrugging. "Fine, fine. Honestly, I don't know why I'm trying to argue this... it's _money_ for heaven's sake..."

"Thank you again, Luffy." Kaya said, stepping up to the captain.

The duo stared at her, eyes unblinking. Honestly, even as cute as she was, Laya's place from her brother's shoulder was just a bit unsettling to the other girl.

Then they grinned wide. "Anytime! If you ever need anything, just call and we'll help however we can." Luffy told her.

"That's right!" Laya added. "Anything for friends!"

Kaya opened her mouth to respond, then froze, lips dry. It was the perfect opportunity, there for the taking... she just had to take it! "In that case, um... Luffy-san. I would like to- that is..."

"Sure."

She blinked. "Eh?"

"Shishishi! You want to join right? I'm saying yes. Usopp can come too, by the way. "

The heiress stood dumbfounded, right alongside Tomoe, Nami, Merry, and Usopp that just so happened to be listening from the deck of the Merry.

Laya on the other hand... "Wait, really!? Sweet! Two new crew members, woohoo! This is awesome. Shishishishi!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yep!"

"But-"

"No buts! I said yes, and I'm not taking it back! You're apart of the crew and that's final!"

Laya nodded emphatically. "No take backs, Kaya! Captains' orders are final you know. And there's two of us, which means it's double final!"

The girl went to say something, then stopped and nodded with a quiet laugh. "Of course, Captains."

Laya preened. Kaya giggled and turned to look at the deck of the Merry. "Hear that Usopp-kun!? They said yes!"

Suddenly, from the railing, they saw the long-nosed teen appear. A wide grin was on his face and he looked like he was ready to burst. "Hahahaha! You kidding? Just call me CAPTAIN USOPP!"

Luffy and Laya squawked in unison.

"Like hell you are!"

"Fat chance, long nose!"

"I'm the captain!"/"I'm the captain!"

The twins paused, looked at each other, then grinned.

On the ship, Usopp sulked, much to the amusement of everyone else present.

{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}

Kaya looked out over the railing of the _Going Merry_ as they left behind Syrup Village. The events of yesterday were fresh in her mind, rolling around like a storm that she couldn't quite settle.

"So much in so little time..." She murmured.

And very much, it was. After their meeting their meeting on the cliffs, which had been meant as a send off, Kaya had insisted the crew stay the night at her manor. There were several things that she needed to set in order for her departure, which would take most of the night.

Explaining to the staff that their mistress would be heading out to sea was quiet nerve wracking, and the girl had been quiet thankful to Merry for coming in with a smooth explanation to keep the numerous workers from worrying about her.

During that time, apparently, the others had gone to another portion of the island to visit a gold exchange and get some of their treasure swapped for beli. Kaya had been unaware the crew was in possession of so much wealth, but she supposed it was relieving to know they wouldn't be pressed for basic necessities.

They had also, while they were at it and at Nami's insistence, turned in Kuro. Unfortunately, there was no bounty reward, since Kuro had "already been apprehended" by the marines three years prior, but they handed him over regardless. She was sure that whatever base received the crook would be _very_ confused.

Then there was the Veggie Trio. They had been told to stay away from any conflict after delivering the wanted poster and, though reluctantly, had agreed.

The moment they heard that their precious Captain and his Lady were leaving though... well, she had never seen her young friends so desperate. The young heiress very nearly had tried to convince her new captains to allow the three to join them out of pity, only to have her conscience stop her.

The sea was no place for children. It was a steadfast rule heeded by nearly all that called the ocean their home.

That did not change the heartbreak she felt as she watched Usopp put on a brave front for the trio, one that they saw right through but played along with as always.

She would miss them, truly.

Of course, she couldn't have forgotten all of her medical texts. Dedicated to the fulfillment of Usopp's dream she may be, but her own there was still to accomplish. Kaya was determined to become an aspiring doctor one day; someone that could heal even the most grievous of wounds, so that no amount of adventuring would take her precious people away. It would be a long path, but more than worth it.

Anything to keep him safe. To keep him with her.

The goodbyes had been tearful, but it was too late to take anything back. They had set sail, captains' orders.

She gave a rueful smile. " _Mistress no longer, hmm?_ " It was odd, but she supposed she hadn't ever _really_ been the mistress of the house. First it had been her parents, then Kuro had taken over after them, and now it was Merry's turn to lead. "I suppose I've never been the leading sort."

"What's that Kaya?"

She blinked and turned. Her thought must have been deep to not have noticed the boy walk up to her. "Usopp-kun." She smiled, noticing how he looked out of breath. "Nothing. I was merely thinking to myself, about the past, and how I've come to this point."

Usopp chuckled, eyes drifting far away to the retreating landmass. "It's been crazy. But we've entered something new, Kaya. Something wonderful! The world is open to us now, just like we always wanted, and we have the best crew in the world to experience it with."

The sound of laughing could be heard behind them as Luffy and Laya played tag, simultaneously exploring their new ship while they did so. From the cries of frustrated, feminine laughing, Luffy was winning. Every so often, an annoyed grunt, followed by a yell could be heard as they disturbed the sleep cycle of Tomoe. Nami, of course, was nowhere to be seen. Likely, she was inside, working with the newly acquired funds of the crew.

Kaya smiled, content in her decision, and very much looking forward to what life awaited her.

"Yes, I suppose we do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, would you look at that, another one done is so short a time. Didn't think that was going to happen. Like, at all.
> 
> Still, when inspiration hits, what's a little bit of blown off college work? Nothing. That's what.
> 
> And since I finished this in record time, I actually still have time to do that too! Woo!
> 
> Anyway, enough about me. This chapter was actually pretty fun to write. Compared to last chapter, this was a stark improvement.
> 
> The scenes with Kaya and Usopp were a gem, and you can expect wonderful things from that moving forward. Bet you didn't expect her joining, huh? Well be amazed! She is the first of several, none of whom I will disclose.
> 
> I should also mention now, that ALL of those new crew mates have been pre-chosen for plot related reasons and cannot be changed or added to. So, sorry to anyone that wants to make a suggestion, but it shall fall on deaf ears.
> 
> Hopefully you all weren't expecting too much from the Kuro fight. Honestly, these early fights are so insignificant when compared to later ones (in terms of threat) that I can't justify having them take any sort of time. In my mind, it lasted just about as long as it reasonably could while keeping things in character.
> 
> Also, I know last author's notes that I said our cook would get a mention (and possibly an appearance), but the ending to this one felt right. Fear not, the resident kick master shall be presented to you all next chapter, along with a fair bit of the Baratie Arc. We're not spending four chapters on it like with Syrup Village. Two at most, then it's straight to Arlong.
> 
> As a last note: Please Review! I feed off of your comments. They aren't necessarily required for me to continue writing, but if you want to motivate me to get chapters out faster than they otherwise would, then commenting and getting into conversation with me over the story is the best way.
> 
> It fuels my desire to shove the rest of my life to the side and waste away on my keyboard.
> 
> That's all.
> 
> As always, have a superfragacalalisticexpealadocious day, and take a spoon full of suger to help that medicine go down!  
> ~TMCO
> 
> NEXT TIME!: We actually meet the footy food crew mate and things get dangerously sharp.


End file.
